One local program has secured a spot in the Class 2A state volleyball tournament, with another competing for a 3A berth.
Here’s where things stand in the world of Plateau prep volleyball.
WHITE RIVER
The Hornets have again landed in the Class 2A’s Sweet 16, the elite field making up the state tournament. They will kick off the tourney at 9 a.m. Friday at St. Martin’s University in Lacey.
The Hornets’ first-round opponent will be the Blaine Borderites. The tourney is a double-elimination format.
White River advanced to state after placing second in the South Puget Sound League 2A, finishing third in the league’s postseason tourney and taking fourth in last weekend’s district tournament.
The Hornets opened district play with a Nov. 2 victory over Kingston, defeating the Bucaneers 3-2. That guaranteed White River a state berth and a spot in the district semifinals. Playing Nov. 3, the Hornets lost 3-0 to the Washington Patriots, then fell 3-0 to North Kitsap, claiming the district’s No. 4 berth to state.
In the trio of district contests, Tori Schmidtke led the Hornets with 30 kills and Elle Thomas had 25; Sarah Elmore totaled 79 assists and Noelle Mills had 77 digs.
BONNEY LAKE
The Panthers are still in the running for a berth in the Class 3A state tournament, but will have to climb through the loser’s bracket to qualify.
Bonney Lake’s girls opened the West Central/Southwest District tourney Nov. 3 with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Mountain View Mighty Thunder, a Vancouver school.
That put the Panthers in a position where they will have to win three times this Saturday to claim one of the district’s five state berths. Bonney Lake will have home-court advantage, hosting all of Saturday’s losers-bracket contests.
ENUMCLAW
The Enumclaw High girls saw their season come to an end with back-to-back losses on the first day of the West Central/Southwest District tournament.
The Hornets opened with a 3-2 loss to the Camas Papermakers and followed that with a 3-2 setback at the hands of the Union Titans.
The district tourney, which sends seven teams to the Class 4A state tournament, concludes Saturday.
Enumclaw finished second in the North Puget Sound League 4A, but postseason play was not kind to the Hornets, who lost both matches in the league tournament before going two-and-out at district.
