State volleyball: Kamiakin, Ki-Be ousted from tournaments
The Kamiakin Braves are blessed with three powerful hitters in Allison Stapleton, Leanna Shymanski and Madison Judy, but when you can’t get your offense on track, they cease to be weapons.
The Braves had a tough time with serve receive and passing Friday morning in a 25-15, 25-17, 25-21 loss to top-ranked Gig Harbor in their first match at the Class 3A state volleyball tournament at Toyota Center.
“We go back to reviewing fundamentals and what it takes to serve receive,” Braves coach Morgan Schauble said. “You start with that. If you can’t serve receive and pass, you can’t use the hitters we have.”
In the consolation round, Kamiakin (19-9) lost a 25-22, 25-16, 27-25 loser-out match to Ferndale to end its state run.
Gig Harbor (21-1), which lost its season opener to 4A Curtis, has won 21 consecutive matches.
After dropping the first set, the Braves found themselves in a 20-10 hole in the second. Strong runs at the service line by Jill Sands and Shymanski pulled Kamiakin to within 24-17 of the Tides, but it wouldn’t be enough.
Rachel Howard sealed the win for Gig Harbor with an ace. Howard had nine aces for the match.
“We served aggressive,” said Tides coach Melissa Klein, whose team served at 97 percent. “We only missed two serves.”
The Tides kept rolling in the third, going out front 8-2 behind four points by Howard.
The Braves chipped away at Gig Harbor’s lead, and they trailed 15-12 after a kill by Judy.
Back-to-back kills by Stapleton had Kamiakin within 17-15. Later, a double block by Stapleton and Shymanski made it 18-16.
Shymanski laid down a kill, then put up a block as the Braves were within 19-18 with hopes of extending the match.
With a 21-19 lead, Gig Harbor’s Selena Dutton reeled off two points, and a kill by Lauren Hatfield sealed the win and sent the Tides to the quarterfinals against Mercer Island. Hatfield finished with 12 kills.
“They played solid,” Klein said of her team. “We were excited about how we came out in our first match. We were aggressive serving and hitting. We’ve had a great year.”
Judy had seven kills for the Braves, while Shymanski had five kills and five blocks, and Maddy Eerkes 20 assists.
Against Ferndale, the Braves looked to push the match to a fourth set, taking a 23-19 lead. The Golden Eagles tied the match at 23-all, then went out front 24-23 after putting a kill off a Kamiakin block.
A net serve by Ferndale made it 24-all, and the teams forged a 25-all tie before the Golden Eagles put the match away.
Shymanski had seven kills and Stapleton five kills and 14 digs for the Braves.
Set scores: Gig Harbor 25-15, 25-17, 25-21. Kamiakin: Allison Stapleton 4K, 2B; Carlee Rowell 4K; Leanna Shymanski 5K, 5B; Madison Judy 7K; Maddy Eerkes 20 assts; Jill Sands 7 digs. Gig Harbor: Lauren Hatfield 12K, 2B, 7 digs; Selena Dutton 6K, 6 digs, 2 aces; Rachel Howard 9 aces, 4K, 3B; Paige Lawson 2 aces, 24 assts, 7 digs.
Set scores: Ferndale 25-22, 25-16, 27-25. Kamiakin: Allison Stapleton 5K, 14 digs; Carlee Rowell 1 ace, 7K, 7 digs; Leanna Shymanski 7K, 1B; Madison Judy 6K, 10 digs; Maddy Eerkes 22 assts, 3 digs; Jill Sands 2K, 5 digs.
Class 1A
Kiona-Benton went 0-2 for the second consecutive year at the 1A state volleyball tournament in Yakima.
In the opener, Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) beat the Bears 25-8, 25-20, 25-17. Ki-Be then came up against Montesano, which won 25-18, 25-21, 25-14.
The Bears finished their season 15-5.
Annie Fowler: 509-582-1574, @TCHIceQueen
This story was originally published November 11, 2016 at 4:55 PM with the headline "State volleyball: Kamiakin, Ki-Be ousted from tournaments."