After dozens of games across four district tournaments, we are down to four 2B and 1B teams left standing.
On Wednesday, the Adna Pirates, Napavine Tigers, Rainier Mountaineers and Mossyrock Vikings will all begin play in the 2B and 1B State Tournaments in Yakima.
Adna is among the favorites in the 2B tournament, as the Pirates earned the No. 1 seed after posting a perfect 18-0 record in the regular season and district playoffs.
On Saturday, the Pirates won their third district title in school history and first since they won back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011. They’re looking to become the first team from District 4 to win the 2B state championship since Kalama did so in 2016.
Throughout the season, the Pirates have been at or near the top of both the WIAA RPI rankings and the WSVCA Coaches Poll.
“That kind of puts that target on your back,” Adna coach Wendie Dotson said, before pointing to the gym wall that has the team’s state place finishes listed. “But it’s also exciting on the other end of it. Where we have the opportunity to do some really good things and maybe finish a little higher on that board.”
The Pirates have never finished higher than fourth, though they return many players from last year’s team that finished fifth, including C2BL MVP Kendall Humphrey and all-league honorees Danika Hallom and Gaby Guard. First-team C2BL outside hitter Karsyn Freeman is also in the mix now.
None of the Pirates matches went the full five sets this season, and even when they lost a set, Dotson was impressed with the way they quickly adjusted and rebounded.
“They’ve come back before and not let it phase them when they lost a set,” Dotson said. “So hopefully, they can just keep rolling with that.”
Joining Adna from the C2BL are Rainier and Napavine. Even though the Tigers took two of three from the Mountaineers this season, including the third-place match at the district tournament on Saturday, it was Rainier seeded one spot above Napavine at No. 9. Napavine is the No. 10 seed.
The two teams have combined for 11 losses, and all 11 are against each other, Adna, or Toutle Lake, the district runner-up.
For the Mountaineers, it’s their second trip to the state tournament in the last three years. Rainier coach Carrie Ooms says her goal coming into the year was to return to state, and her goal this year is to go “above and beyond” and place.
The Mountaineers certainly will be in the mix, even with a potential match with Adna looming if both them and the Pirates win their first-round matchups.
They’re led by C2BL first-teamer Acacia Murphy, though Allyson Ooms, Brooklynn Swenson and Janess Blackburn also earned second-team and honorable mention honors.
The Tigers are led by Keira O’Neill and Dakota Hamilton, who both earned first-team C2BL honors, and they are also looking to place after not placing in last year’s tournament.
At times this season, the Tigers have had extended lapses of attention and focus. At times, they’ve been able to work through it, like their five-set win over Forks in the district consolation semis, when they allowed Forks to tie the game at two after leading 2-0.
“We have a tendency to lose focus a little bit,” Napavine coach Monica Dailey said, before adding that when they’re on, they are “pretty unstoppable.”
“They are the ones that have to decide how bad they have to turn it around,” Dailey added.
Mossyrock is the lone local team in the 1B tournament. Similar to Adna, they are entering among the favorites, seeded at No. 3. They’re also coming in on the heels of a district championship, their fourth in a row.
The Vikings will be looking to capture the state title that has eluded them lately, as they’ve finished as the state runner up in 2B and 1B in five of the last six seasons.
This season was seen as a reloading year, as they lost Payton Torrey, Caelyn Marshall and Hailey Brooks from last year’s team.
Several young players have stepped up, however, including Adyson Barrows and Renzy Marshall, to keep the Vikings atop the Columbia Valley standings.
The usual suspects have also had success for the Vikings, including jack-of-all-trades Erin Cournyer, Abbie Lovan, and Chesney Schultz.
For a full list of seeding and first-round matchups, click here.
