Friday, Oct. 23, 2009

Roundup: Richland volleyball claims No. 2 seed

By Rene Ferran, Herald staff writer

RICHLAND -- A small group of Richland players and coaches loitered on the Art Dawald Gym floor Thursday after the Bombers' 25-20, 19-25, 25-15, 26-24 CBBN volleyball win over Walla Walla, waiting for word on Southridge's match at West Valley.

Finally, a Southridge parent was reached on the phone. The Suns won the fourth set to finish off their victory and clinch their first-ever league title.

A loud groan rose from the group.

Richland would have to settle for a tie for second with Eisenhower and the No. 2 seed into next week's district tournament.

Richland, ranked No. 5 in the state, will host Kennewick at 7 p.m. Thursday in a first-round match.

"We definitely wanted to get first," said Bombers junior outside hitter Maddi Jacobs, who had a career-high 14 kills and four aces. "But if we get second, we get second. We'll just show up at districts, do our best there and see what happens."

Jacobs was relegated to back-row duty earlier in the season as she struggled with her swing, but she has come up big in the Bombers' past two matches.

Jacobs had five kills in the first set and served the final six points (including two aces) as Richland erased a 20-18 deficit.

Then in the fourth set, she served back-to-back aces to start a four-point run that gave the Bombers a 15-8 lead.

"She's getting confident and starting to play better," said Richland coach Bob Raidl. "She's been turning it up at the end of the season, and we need that because we'll need another weapon on offense as we play better teams."

Wa-Hi came back to tie the set at 24 on a kill by Lexie Mahan, but Alex Estes' kill gave Rich-land match point and libero Liz Judy's free ball fell among a trio of Blue Devils to end the match.

"Defense is the one part of the game I wish we'd played better," said Wa-Hi coach Audra Cummings, whose team earned the No. 6 seed and travels to No. 3 Eisenhower on Thursday. "We let too many tip balls fall, but credit Richland. They kept us guessing with their swings."

Hanford 3, Chiawana 1

Hanford--Jordan Bird 24 kills, 16 digs, 9 blocks; Nikki Eldred 11 kills; 6 blocks; Holly Lindgren 7 kills; Cricket Louie 41 assists; Ariel Dreher 7 digs. Chiawana--Sadie Sparks 17 kills, 10 digs; Hailey Hodgins 9 kills, 6 digs; Jamie Steach 23 assists, 3 kills; Darian Andrew 10 assists, 8 digs; Rachel Brayton 4 kills; Mikaela Rivard 4 kills; Melanie Valdez 8 digs.

Southridge 3, WV 1

Southridge--Andrea Smith 36 assists, 9 digs, 3 blocks; Heather Worley 11 kills, 16 digs; Danielle Harvey 7 kills, 23 digs; Jamie Lyons 6 kills, 15 digs; Shelby Warner 6 kills, 3 blocks; Isabella Midili 19 digs; Meagan Doyle 5 kills, 3 blocks.

Richland 3, Wa-Hi 1

Walla Walla--Courtney Zaro 10 kills, 10 digs, 2 aces; Madeline Jacobson 10 kills, 7 digs; Jamie Weisner 9 kills, 6 digs; Jill McDaniels 20 assists; Brogan Watson 10 assists. Richland--Chelsey Bettinson 15 kills, 10 digs, 2 blocks; Maddi Jacobs 14 kills, 21x21 serving, 4 aces; Liz Judy 49 digs; Michelle Coughanour 5 kills, 3 aces, 9 digs; Krysta Olberding 46 assists, 3 kills, 19 digs, 2 blocks; Alex Estes 11 kills.

Ike 3, Kennewick 0

Kennewick--Kelsey Julian 8 kills, 3 blocks, 5 digs, 2 aces; Meghan McIntyre 4 kills, 6 digs; Kali Buckendorf 2 kills, 1 block, 8 digs; Eugenia Soto 9 digs; Mariah Zaback 5 assists; Jordan Watson 3 assists.

Kamiakin 3, Pasco 1

Pasco--Yessica Diaz 7 kills, 10 digs; Kendra Voorhees 7 kills, 11 digs, 3 blocks; Karis Gamache 5 kills, 10 digs; Sierra Linke 4 blocks, 7 digs; Alma Diaz 15 assists, 9 digs. Kamiakin--Kassy Larson 14 kills, 3 blocks; Bethany Huston 9 kills, 17x17 serving, 1 ace; Kailee Dunn 7 kills; Demi Warner 5 aces; Paige Wamboldt 33 assists.

Eastmont 3, Moses Lake 0

Moses Lake--Kayla Bernsen 13 kills, 4 blocks; Kenzie Fancher 15 assists; Markie Fancher 7 assists; Mindy Robins 8 digs, 6 aces.

Grandview 3, Prosser 0

Prosser--Tamara Jones 7 kills; Helena Hudak 11 digs, 5 kills; Taylor Flores 14 assists; Jillian Espinosa 8 digs. Grandview--Adriana Ramos 11 kills, 4 blocks; Haley Smasne 6 kills, 4 blocks, 9 digs, 11 service pts.; Payton Parrish 8 kills, 17 assists, 7 service pts., 10 digs; Brandy Atkinson 15 assists, 7 service pts., 8 digs; Gabby Sauve 11 service pts., 20 digs; Mikaela Espinoza 8 kills.

Royal 3, Connell 0

Connell--Brooke Gibbons 8 kills, 3 blocks; Michelle McCary 5 digs; Shannon Jorgenson 10 assists, 3 digs; Yesenia Lombera 3 digs, 2 kills. Royal--No report.

Burbank 3, Warden 0

Warden--Lindsay Cole 18x18 serving, 5 aces, 18 digs, 1 kill; Emily Shuler 10 assists, 7x7 serving; Narcy Guerra 10x10 serving, 2 aces, 13 digs; Iris Rodriguez 2 kills, 1 ace. Columbia (Burbank)--Hannah Pierce 13 assists, 3 digs, 14x14 serving; Jeni Akerblade 16x16 serving; Kristyn Long 12 kills.

River View 3, Wahluke 1

River View--No report. Wahluke--Lexi Peterson 18 kills, 9 digs, 13x15 serving, 4 aces, 1 block; Emily Jenne 6 kills; Elizabeth Sandoval 7 digs; Kassandra Villalobos 6 kills, 8 digs; 13x16 serving, 2 aces.

Liberty Christian 3, W-P 2

Liberty Christian--Brittney Reed 34 of 35 serviing 11 aces; Hannah Croskrey 36 assists, 5 blocks; Nikki Horne 5 kills; Shanita Hill 11 kills, 15 digs; Hannah Berges 16 kills, 15 blocks; Jennifer Peterson 7 kills, 7 blocks. W-P--No report.

TC Prep 3, DeSales 1

Tri-Cities Prep--Sydney Disselkamp 16 kills, 15 blocks; Taylor Graham 19 assists, 15x16 serving; Jaelyn Hogan 12 assists, 12x13 serving, 3 aces; Daniella Jasen 26x26 serving, 9 kills, 24 digs; Clara Arcia 27 digs. DeSales--Caitlin Duncan 13 kills, 8 blocks; Abby Larreau 5 kills, 3 blocks; Annie Higgins 4 kills; Amanda Warnick 9 assists, 12x12 serving; Chantel Blanc 11 assists, 17x17 serving.