PARKLAND — North Kitsap was unable to defend its district crown in 2018 with a semifinal loss to Fife. The team rebounded to defeat White River to take home third place and the No. 3 seed out of the district in next week’s 2A state tournament.
The Vikings came out strong against Fife, winning the first set 25-15 and looking like a runaway train. But the script flipped quickly and soon Fife had North Kitsap running all over the court. The team’s serve receive also faltered, especially when Trojans middle blocker Casonndrah Polo was at the helm.
“They did some things we hadn’t seen before,” North Kitsap head coach Tim French said. The pace of the ball was faster and they placed it really well, it got us going to the corners and up and back. They have some really strong players, they were tough.”
Fife took set two 25-11, and then edged out the Vikings in set three, 25-23, and set four, 25-21, to advance to the title game where they lost to district champion Washington.
“The girls took it kind of hard because it was their first regular match loss of the season,” French said. “But they bounced back and they did well. No. 3 seed, we’ll take it.”
The Vikings swept White River in the third/fourth place game. Noelani Barreith and Taylor Clodfelder each had six kills and Riley Rabedeaux added five.
Maddie Pruden recorded four blocks in set one as part of a 9-1 run that vaulted the team out to a 22-11 lead. They eventually took the set, 25-15, and swept the rest of the way, 25-22, 25-19.
Barreith recorded 12 digs and Rabedeaux had 11. Kialey Moon added nine. Autumn Carver had 13 assists and Joslyn Leage had seven.
Kingston takes fifth at districts, advances to state
PARKLAND — The Bucs took the hard road to state after a tough five-set loss to White River on Friday night, but they rebounded to beat Foss and River Ridge, and then won a coin flip to get the No. 5 seed.
Kingston started Friday with Eatonville and dispatched them in four sets, 25-11, 25-13, 23-25, 25-11, which set the team up with the No. 4 overall seed, White River. The match went all the way to five and the Hornets came away victorious, sending the Bucs to the left side of the bracket and a demanding Saturday slate.
After beating Foss three sets to one, Kingston duked it out with River Ridge. It went to five sets, and the Bucs were able to pull away early and win the set 15-9, and take the match.
“It was a fight,” head coach Ed Call said. “That was a tough match. River Ridge was everywhere, that was a hard-fought match.”
Steilacoom and Kingston agreed to a coin flip to settle which teams would get fifth and sixth. The flip went Kingston’s way and they take the No. 5 seed out of the tournament to state and Steilacoom gets sixth.
Klahowya eliminated from 1A district tournament
UNIVERSITY PLACE — The Eagles played eight close sets this weekend at the 1A district tournament, but came up empty. A pair of losses at Charles Wright Academy ended their season.
Klahowya took on Bellevue Christian in game one and had to contend with a pair of big hitters in Molly Olson and Cora Ter Kuile. Both stand 6-feet 1-inch and can pound the ball with precision. Olson proved to be a decisive factor in the Vikings’ four-set victory, 25-27, 25-20, 24-26, 19-25.
“In my mind, you take [Olson] off their team, they’re a completely different team,” Klahowya head coach Wendy Kraft said. “That’s their bread and butter, and she had a great game.”
Senior Taylor Bruce turned in an excellent performance, recording nine kills and two aces. Katie Cooper picked up four aces, Chloe Settle had four kills and three aces and Rachel Bailey added five kills and two aces. Klahowya pushed an excellent Bellevue Christian team to the limit in each set.
“There is no hanging our heads for that game,” Kraft said.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, they could not turn their day around as they fell in four sets to Seattle Christian 23-25, 25-15, 16-25, 23-25 in an elimination game to bring 2018 to a close. They finished with a 12-5 record and a league championship.
Central Kitsap loses first game in 3A bi-district tournament
OLYMPIA — The Cougars lost to Lakes in three sets on Saturday. In order to get to state, they will have to win three in a row next Saturday at Bonney Lake. Central Kitsap takes on North Thurston at noon.
— Mark Krulish is a rpeorter for Kitsap News Group. He can be reached at mkrulish@soundpublishing.com. Follow him on Twitter @MKrulishKDN.
