YAKIMA — It was deemed as one of the best potential matchups in the Class 2B state volleyball tournament. The top two seeds were seemingly on a collision course for Thursday night.
Unbeaten Adna against two-loss Manson, a rematch from early September in the regular season, was on the table.
More times than not, the sequel is rarely better than the original.
That was the case inside the Yakima Valley SunDome.
The Trojans used seven aces in the opening set, nearly 25 kills from star hitter Stella Petersen throughout and finding another gear late to triumph over the Pirates in a 25-20, 26-24, 25-17 sweep to hoist their second straight state championship.
“We worked our hardest and that's all we can do and we gave it all we had,” senior outside hitter Karsyn Freeman said. “It sucks, but we made it this far and that’s all we can really be grateful for.”
A dream season for Adna (21-1) came to a screeching halt in over an hour on center court. The emotions ran high after a service error by Gaby Guard, an unceremonious ending to an otherwise stellar campaign.
It was the first time the Pirates were swept since the 2B District 4 tournament two years ago against Kalama.
“I wish we won for the girls, but Manson is a good team,” Adna head coach Wendie Dotson said. “We dug up some of their balls and played really good at times. We (just) came out on the short end.”
There were breaks that went Manson’s way all night. Whether it was a weird spin off a serve and the passing still found the front row to a couple aces clipping the net, the Trojans got plenty of friendly bounces.
Perhaps none more than early in the second set.
A long rally that looked finished a couple times kept going and an attacking error gave the Pirates an 8-7 lead. They never grabbed hold of that slim slice of momentum.
“I think the girls fought for every point we earned,” Dotson said. “They didn’t make very many mistakes.”
Still, Adna was far from dead in the middle set. It erased three set points to square the score at 24-24. A sideout and one of nine net violations called against the Pirates gave Manson a 2-0 lead in the match.
“That had a lot to do with trying really hard to stop (Petersen),” Dotson stated. “You’re trying to force that momentum.”
Danika Hallom unleashed a kill in the third to cut the margin to five at 19-14. That was the closest Adna would get the rest of the way.
The Trojans’ trio of Petersen, Bailey Evans and Brynn Williams found the holes in the defense. One element that Adna doesn’t see much in league and districts is back row kills.
That’s where Petersen did a lot of her damage. The Pirates’ were led by 16 kills and 12 digs by Freeman and 29 assists plus 14 digs by Guard.
“We tried to range it,” Freeman said.
Hours earlier, the Pirates swept fifth-seeded Coupeville 25-14, 26-24, 25-17 to get to the title game. It was a passing and defensive showcase the back row put on with the traditional quartet of Freeman, Hallom, Guard and Kendall Humphrey.
Adna used an 11-4 lead to cruise in the opener, stave off a comeback in the second and lead wire-to-wire in the third.
Freeman notched a double-double with 17 kills and 18 digs in the semifinals while Guard dished out 30 dimes.
“We told ourselves this is what we’re going to do and we did it,” Guard said.
This fall was the finality of a two-year run for the Pirates that went into Yakima with an unblemished record and left just short of the end goal.
Before they walked out of the arena, Dotson made sure to remind her group they had nothing to be ashamed of.
“We made history, it is pretty cool,” Guard said.
