Cheney volleyball wins district title 3-2 over Pullman

The Cheney High volleyball team captured its first district title last Saturday after they defeated Pullman, 3-2 in the final rounds of the District 7 playoffs

Although the Blackhawks had a bye to the finals, they took on a battle-tested Pullman team in a close match (17-25, 25-17, 25-21, 23-25, 15-10).

Prior to facing Cheney, the Greyhounds swept Clarkston, 3-0 in the first round, then defeated East Valley, 3-2. Cheney head coach Heather Zorrozua said she was worried about her team having to sit and wait for the finale.

"Sometimes when you're watching that much volleyball (and not playing), you kind of get tired, but it was hard for them not to watch Pullman vs. East Valley because that's who we were going to play," Zorrozua said.

After they dropped the first set, Cheney rebounded to win the next two. The Greyhounds came back to win the fourth before the Blackhawks won the fifth, clinching the district championship.

"I don't think my girls were playing to the best of their abilities in the first set," Zorrozua said. "It was a challenge to watch them struggle. But they didn't give up."

Rylie Pease led her team with 17 kills, Peyton Stark had 37 assists and Taylor Gould recorded four aces. On defense, Ally Jones had 17 digs and KD Skillingstad notched a season-best five blocks.

"I was impressed with Pullman, we went to five sets with them in our first match of the season and we ended districts with them in five," Zorrozua said.

Before the playoffs, the Blackhawks finished its regular season Oct. 25 on Senior Night with a 3-0 sweep of East Valley (25-14, 25-14, 25-17).

Against the Knights, Pease led the match with 12 digs while Stark notched 25 assists and two blocks. Skillingstad had two aces and Gould recorded 12 digs.

Before the match, seven seniors were honored for their contributions to the team.

"I always get nervous on senior night and I didn't know how the girls would respond," Zorrozua said. "That was the first match where they were completely focused and that was the team I've seen in practice and the team I wanted to show everyone else."

Cheney will host the loser of the Nov. 2 Central Washington Athletic Conference game between East Valley-Yakima and Othello, in a regional crossover match, Saturday, Nov. 5, at 1 p.m. The Blackhawks defeated Othello in the Linda Sheridan Volleyball Classic in October.

To prepare for the crossover match, Zorrozua said she would bring some of her Gonzaga University teammates to speak with the team, as well as work on some "position-type" drills.

"This the first time, outside of a tournament, where we don't know a lot about the team we are playing," Zorrozua said. "When these girls are focused and playing their game of volleyball, I would put them up against anyone."

Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].

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