ELLENSBURG — This team was obviously eager to get back in the state.
In just over an hour, Ellensburg won a decisive sweep over second-seeded Ephrata 25-17, 25-14, 25-12 to win the CWAC District title on Thursday night and claim a berth in the tournament. class 2A state volleyball next week at the SunDome.
Nine days after Ephrata pushed Ellensburg to five sets, the Bulldogs were in complete control of this one as Abby Harrell had 13 kills and nine digs and the frontline block was in fine form all game. Lilly Button and Kacey Mayo have combined 23 assists.
Ellensburg will be making his eighth straight state appearance. Brackets and pairings will be announced on Sunday.
Selah stayed alive for a berth in State, knocking out Prosser 25-21, 25-12, 25-17 in Thursday’s opener at Ellensburg. Taylor Kieser had 11 kills and 15 assists and Madilynn Shurtleff registered 10 kills for the winners.
With the CWAC No. 3 seed, the Vikings will play a winner-loser crossover at Pullman on Saturday at 2 p.m. Pullman won the GSL with a 10-0 record.
Ephrata will host Clarkston in the other state qualifying crossover on Saturday.
Ellensburg Highlights: Hazel Murphy 3 kills, 4 digs, 2 blocks; Taylor Alder 4 digs; Parker Lyyski 3 kills, 1 recovery; Lilly Button 12 assists, 7 digs; Abby Harrell 13 kills, 4 aces, 9 digs; Olivia Anderson 6 kills, 5 blocks; Kacey Mayo 11 assists, 3 digs; Sarah Stueckle 3 digs; Leah Drexler 4 assists, 8 digs, 1 ace; Leah Lewis 3 kills, 4 digs; Alana Marrs 4 kills, 2 blocks.
Selah Highlights: Jacey Scott 16-16 serving, 1 ace, 13 perfect passes, 10 digs; Madi McNett 2 blocks, 1 kill, 1 dig; Emily Hutchinson 13-13 serves, 2 aces, 3 pp, 6 kills, 4 digs; Taylor Kieser 10-10 serves, 2 aces, 1 block, 11 kills, 3 digs, 15 assists; Citlali Bautista 9-10 serving, 1 ace, 1 dig; Maddy Miller 1 recovery, 6 assists; Ana Hrle 3 blocks, 3 kills; Kylee Huntley 2 kills, 4 digs; Madilynn Shurtleff 9-10 serves, 1 ace, 5 pp, 10 kills, 6 digs; Emily Nelson-Hawkins 13-14 serves, 1 kill, 2 digs, 13 assists; Cece Escamilla 1 kill.
Prosser Highlights: Kendra Groeneveld 2 kills, 17 assists, 2 aces, 4 digs; Julianna Phillips 3 wins; Lay’lee Dixon 4 kills, 3 blocks; Auslyn Schab 2 kills, 2 recoveries; Kambree Blair 8 kills, 2 aces, 3 digs; Adriana Milanez 11 digs, 1 ace, 1 kill; Allyson Denny 2 digs.
Tough Day in the ‘DomeThursday was as tough as it gets for EWAC’s four-team contingent on Day 1 of the Class 2B State Tournament in the SunDome.
Three teams were 0-2 and eliminated, including Goldendale and Granger, and the one that survived and advanced through Friday, Tri-Cities Prep, did so at the expense of the same league.
Goldendale, seeded sixth, undefeated in EWAC West and winner of the district title, opened at 8 a.m. against No. 11 Lind-Ritzville, who prevailed 26-24, 25-21, 25 -21 to advance to the quarter-finals.
The Timberwolves then had to face Okanogan in the losing round and the Bulldogs swept 25-18, 26-24, 26-24. Goldendale finished its season at 18-4.
Granger, seeded 13th, had a tough challenge in his first game against annual powerhouse Colfax and the seeded No. 4 played until that with a 25-14, 25-12, 25 win. -15 and then qualified for Friday’s semi-finals.
The Spartans then faced EWAC foe Tri-Cities Prep and the Jaguars survived the playoff game 21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-13. The two teams shared a pair of five-set matches earlier this season.
Walla Walla Valley fell to semi-finalists Manson and Brewster.
For full brackets and results see www.wiaa.com
Goldendale Highlights: Taryn Rising 24-24 serving, 29 kills, 23 perfect passes, 21 digs; Gwen Gilliam 17-20 serves, 13 kills, 25 digs, 34 pp; Emily Tindall 23-25 serving, 6 aces; Brook Blain 18 kills, 8 trick blocks; Lexi Molnar 16 digs; Ada Garner 13-14 serves, 11 digs, 2 aces; Brylee Mulrony 22-22 servings, 30pp, 21 servings; Lydia Hanning 16-18 serves, 9 digs, 10 kills, 1 block.
