The Cheney High volleyball team wrapped up a stellar season after they finished with a record of 1-2 in the 2A state tournament in Lacey Wash., Nov. 11-12.
The Blackhawks opened the tournament on Friday with a sweep of Steliacoom (25-20, 25-15, 25-22). Individual stats from the tournament were not available at press time.
Head coach Heather Zorrozua said her team was “eager” to open the tournament against the Sentinels, who won the South Puget Sound League regular season championship. While Steliacoom’s players were taller than Cheney’s, Zorrozua said her team “kept the pressure on them to win the match.”
“We played awesome defense and shut down their blockers,” Zorrozua added. She singled out Rylie Pease, who played “smart volleyball” and Peyton Stark, who competed with an ankle injury and “pushed through all weekend.”
In the quarterfinals, Cheney lost to Woodland (25-15, 25-17, 25-19). Zorrozua said Woodland had a front row that was six-feet tall, which “shell shocked” her team.
“In our league, we normally don’t see girls that tall and they were hitting over our blockers,” Zorrozua said. “We were a little tired and didn’t look like we showed up to play.”
The Blackhawks were eliminated from the tournament the next day by Ridgefield (17-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-23). Zorrozua said there was “talk from coaches and fans” that Ridgefield would sweep Cheney in three sets. The Blackhawks came out and won the first set, which Zorrozua said surprised fans, coaches and themselves. She added that the team’s pressure kept Ridgefield’s outside hitters “off their game for that first set.”
“Sometimes it comes down to getting a run on points and Ridgefield did that in the second and the third sets,” Zorrozua said. “My girls battled and played smart volleyball and left it all on the court. It was hard for it to end.”
Zorrozua added that Ally Jones, Taylor Gould and Marissa Peach received sportsmanship awards during the tournament. Pease was selected as an honorable mention on the Eli Sports Network’s 2A state volleyball all-tournament team.
Cheney finished the regular season 11-1 in Great Northern League play, 16-3 overall, captured its second straight league championship and won its first District 7 title.
“It’s a long regular season and you play everyone three times (in league), so you have to put in a lot of time and dedication to have a good season,” Zorrozua said. “We set goals for ourselves and were successful. It was fun but also bittersweet.”
The team loses seven seniors to graduation, including All-GNL first-team selections Pease, Gould and KD Skillingstad, as well as Jones, who was named to the second team, Ellie Davis and Kristie McGourin.
Stark, who was voted MVP for the GNL, is expected to return next year, as are defensive specialists Hannah Lemelin and Morgan Peace.
“It will be exciting to get Peyton back, as well as having the leadership in defense (from Lemelin and Peace) for next year,” Zorrozua said.
Zorrozua added that the JV team did well this season, finishing 10-4.
“Adding some of those players to the varsity lineup next year will be a big deal,” she said.
Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].
Reader Comments(0)