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YAKIMA — In their first state tournament game in over two decades, the 14th-seeded Toledo Riverhawks couldn’t get past third-seeded Tonasket, losing 3-1 in the first round of the 2B State Tournament at the Yakima Valley SunDome Wednesday.
Tonasket showed why it had won 13 straight games coming into the tournament, prevailing 25-16, 23-25, 25-16, 25-13 to advance to the quarterfinals.
For a team with the deep postseason inexperience and youth that the Riverhawks have, they made a powerful Tigers team work for its win. In the first set, Toledo trailed big early and made several pushes to extend the frame before Tonasket pulled away.
But in the second, the Riverhawks showed the resilience and fight that they flashed during the district tournament winner-to-state game against Mossyrock. Ellie Fallon and Lexi Young teamed up for a one-two punch that proved to be difficult to stop for Tonasket. Toledo took a 23-18 lead before the Tigers tied it with five straight points, and Abby Umbriaco and Young recorded the final two points.
The set victory was the first for Toledo since 1987, as the 2007 Riverhawks were swept twice at state.
Toledo wouldn’t get any more against Tonasket, as the Tigers dominated in the final two sets with strong service, stout blocking up front and clean defense. Tonasket defended Fallon’s attacks well, and the Riverhawks hurt themselves with unforced errors.
“I thought for the most part playing the level of team that we played that we did pretty well. I do think, though, that nerves play a little bit in there where we could have built on the momentum,” Toledo head coach Kelli Larson said.
With the loss, the Riverhawks fall to the consolation bracket, where they will face 11th-seed La Conner at 3:30 p.m. in a loser-out contest.
“It’s gonna take being more aggressive on defense, moving our feet to the ball, and not having the same amount of unforced errors,” Larson said of the challenge against La Conner, a program that won four straight state titles from 2018 to 2022.
