Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

Southridge spikes Kamiakin in 5

By Rene Ferran, Herald staff writer

KENNEWICK -- Southridge's first-ever league win in volleyball came 12 years ago against crosstown rival Kamiakin.

Southridge's first-ever league title in volleyball may have been wrapped up Tuesday night with another win over Kamiakin.

Heather Worley had a career-high 28 kills and the ninth-ranked Suns rallied from two sets down on their home court to defeat the defending CBBN champion Braves 20-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-19, 15-3.

The Suns (11-1) still face a tough road trip to West Valley to finish the season, but if they win their final two matches, they are assured of at least a tie with fifth-ranked Richland for the league title.

"When we were together in the team huddle before the match, we talked about it," Worley said. "For us seniors, this was our last chance. All of us, we were pretty much begging. I know I was. So to do it, especially against Kamiakin, feels great."

The Bombers, however, own the tiebreaker and would be the top district seed, meaning they would host the second day of the tournament.

No. 8 Kamiakin (9-2), meanwhile, fell into a tie with Eisenhower for third place, and with Ike holding the tiebreaker, the Braves appear destined for the No. 4 seed.

"As long as we can still get to where we want to go, we'll be OK," said Kamiakin coach Mary Opitz. "How we handle this disappointment will determine our season."

That, and perhaps the extent of the left knee injury suffered by senior middle blocker Kristi Beyer midway through the fourth set.

Beyer landed awkwardly on a kill attempt, and her high-pitched shriek cut through the din of the near-capacity crowd.

"We'll see how she is (today) and what the doctors say," Opitz said. "We'll adjust and move on."

The Braves had erased an 8-1 deficit in the set and trailed just 15-14 when Beyer was injured.

After a Suns error tied the set, Southridge went on a 7-1 to regain the momentum. It never relinquished it, scoring the first seven points of the fifth set.

"It hurt, becaue she's one of our outstanding players," said Braves senior Kailee Dunn. "It made me want to play harder and win it for her. But we just started to play more and more tense."

Sophomore Isabella Midili, playing libero in place of an ill Taylor Bauman, served two aces to spark the decisive fifth-set run, and Worley had five kills in the set.

"Heather was a monster in that fifth set," said Suns coach John Lengphounpraseut. "She's my money player. When it came down to crunch time, we were going to find her."

Beyer still led Kamiakin's balanced offense with 12 kills. Kassy Larson and Bethany Huston each added nine kills, Larson had five blocks and Huston four, and Paige Wamboldt had 45 assists.

Meagan Doyle added 11 kills for Southridge, Danielle Harvey had eight kills and 25 digs, and Andrea Smith had 56 assists.