TUMWATER — Staring at four match points and the reality of the season ending in a whimper, the Black Hills High School volleyball team didn’t wilt under pressure.
Some in rhythm offense, sparked by sophomore Lilly Worthen, saw each match point be turned aside and light a fire in the Wolves. All of a sudden, the third set was tied at 24 and again at 25.
“That was… I’m just proud of how they fought,” Black Hills’ first-year head coach Kendra Dunn said. “They really wanted it and was proud of how they came together.”
The Wolves could never snare a set point themselves and the comeback was snatched away.
Powerful blocking from sixth-seeded Woodland and early runs in the opening two sets was enough for it to come away with a 25-15, 25-16, 27-25 sweep over the third-seeded Wolves in a Class 2A District 4 pigtail match on Tuesday night in Tumwater.
With W.F. West falling to R.A. Long also in three sets in the other pigtail contest, the only local Evergreen Conference team remaining into the double elimination part of the bracket is top-seeded Tumwater.
And the Beavers, this year’s host, get at bare minimum two more games on their home gym.
“It would be very embarrassing not to be playing at our home district,” Woodland head coach Kendall Rohrer said. “I thought today was great.”
Rohrer admitted afterwards that blocking has been a rollercoaster this season. Woodland (6-11) consistently stuffed Black Hills’ attacks from the middle and the outside.
Whether it was solo or a duo, the Beavers were on time more often and disrupted the Wolves. Chiara Capezio paced Black Hills with seven kills and Worthen added six.
Middles Ella Goheen and Ellie Johnson were held to a combined seven kills.
“They did a great job all the way around,” Dunn said. “They did a few things different than we thought, but it was a great match.”
It was a 7-1 outburst in the first set that Woodland used to coast to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five. A 7-0 spree early and a 5-1 run late kept it ahead in the second despite a push from Black Hills.
Still, Dunn felt the rally in the third was the captivator that left her in higher spirits despite the season-ending setback.
“Woodland did a really good job tipping and that’s something we struggled with (in) this match,” she said. “To end it how we did, I’m proud.”
Madison Malone finished with a team-best 16 digs for the Wolves (5-12) while Anneliese Dale chipped in 15. Sophie Oaks and Oralia Mike combined for 25 assists.
Woodland was paced by 15 kills from Jenna Starr and eight from Ella Peterson. The Beavers will open the quarterfinals against top-seeded Columbia River on Thursday afternoon.
“We’re peaking now and I’m excited to see what we can do against some familiar teams,” Rohrer said.
Goheen, Dale, Malone, Oakes and Grace Schultz make up the five-member senior class that will depart with the mark of getting Black Hills a top-eight finish at the state tournament for the first time in a decade-plus.
Johnson, Mike, Worthen, Capezio and sophomore Tyler Venable are the core of front row players expected back for 2025.
“We had a lot of close matches and they played really tough all season,” Dunn said. “We continuously got better. I believe in this group. All of them play a crucial role in our team. There is great talent.”
