Cheney’s final week of work in the regular season of the Greater Spokane League — both on the road — helped earn the Blackhawks at least one more night of play.
Cheney traveled and lost 3-2 to Gonzaga Prep (5-3 GSL, 8-7 overall) on Oct. 25 before wrapping up their schedule with a 3-0 win at North Central (1-8, 4-11) Oct. 27 on Senior Night.
The Blackhawks (4-5, 10-6) had to rally twice to force the fifth set at G-Prep (13-25, 25-23, 20-25, 26-24, 18-16). “The match was a battle. We went to five sets and showed another level of grit and heart not yet seen by these athletes,” head coach Heather Zorrozua wrote in an email. “Unfortunately, we came up just short of a win, but it was a competition until the last set’s final points.”
Haleigh Ghering led Cheney stats with 26 assists, Sophia Coffin had 15 assists and Navi Islam-Zwart added 13 kills against the Bullpups.
The focus during the visit to North Central was two-fold according to Zorrozua. Primarily there was working for a win, but also paying tribute to 15 seniors in the program and 11 on varsity she explained. It all came amidst the electric atmosphere of Senior Night for the Wolfpack.
“It was fun to hear all they have learned and appreciate about the volleyball program and their overall high school experience,” Zorrozua said.
Cheney won in straight sets (25-21, 25-16, 25-23) as they hoped to do as Charlie Rajeskwi “played lights out on defense, leading us with ten digs on the night,” Zorrozua said. Other Blackhawks dishing out double-digit numbers were Ghering with 35 assists and Joy Assonken’s 14 kills.
The Blackhawks stay on the road for the first round of the playoffs but were faced with a long road trip to Walla Walla for a Nov. 1 match-up with the Blue Devils, 9-7 and the fifth-place team in the Mid-Columbia Conference.
“We are excited to be making the post-season; finishing last in the GSL and taking fourth this year is nothing to scoff at,” Zorrozua said.
Paul Delaney is a retired Free Press Publishing reporter and can be reached at [email protected].
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