King's, Grandview, Lynden Christian and Pullman
could meet in quarterfinals this year after
Saturday showdowns in 2004 tournament

By SCOTT SANDSBERRY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

When King's volleyball coach Steve Bain looked at the brackets for this weekend's Class 2A state tournament at the SunDome, he found himself looking ahead ... and behind.

And the views were one and the same.

"I think it's interesting that there are potential matchups between Grandview and us and Pullman against Lynden Christian, because that's the way state finished up last year."

The 2004 match for third and sixth saw the Knights edge Grandview in five games. In the fourth-and-seventh place game, Lynden Christian came from two games down to edge Pullman.

The lineups of four teams were buoyed by young players -- the ones who have enabled all four teams to come back as legitimate title contenders.

The teams who played for the title last year, Meridian and Woodland, were devastated by graduation. Meridian didn't get out of district; Woodland again won its district but Beavers coach Jeff Nesbitt admitted his team is "not nearly as strong as last year."

What, then, to make of those potential quarterfinal matchups? Well, top-ranked Lynden Christian -- which actually comes in on the heels of a district-championship loss to No. 2 King's -- must first get by an opening-round match with Chelan.

And No. 7 Grandview, last week's CWAC District champion, must get by No. 8 Mount Baker, which has been ranked among the state's top teams all season. The winner will almost certainly have to face King's -- against whom, noted Grandview coach John La Fever, "We have a score to settle."

The Greyhounds blew a two-games-to-one lead against King's in the 2004 third-place match. And while they no longer have the twin 6-foot middles they had last year, the 'Hounds have much better offensive balance this year -- and may be even better as a result.

"We have a lot more balance than we've had before. We'll play 10 girls," said La Fever, whose young team shares the offensive wealth between five powerful hitters -- sophomores Kealey Johnston, Raissa Licano and Christine Penwell and freshmen Sydney Mottice and Kinzi Poteet, the latter a high-flier for whom the sky's the limit.

"We can hurt you all over the floor," said La Fever, whose teams have won state-tourney trophies in four of the past five seasons and this year has beaten ranked 4A and 3A teams. "In the past, we've been a one- or two- or three-man team. We're not like that right now."

Add to that offensive firepower a gritty defense led by all-state libero Tonhya Wysong and Grandview looks downright scary. And considering that the Greyhounds have only one senior (Wysong) and two juniors on their state-tourney roster, opponents had better be forewarned: If you're going to beat Grandview, you'd better do it now. Because they may be even all but untouchable next year.

"I haven't seen Grandview this year, but they've got that experience and they've had a lot of success in recent years," Mount Baker coach Renata Detta said. "So they've got that going for them, even though they're not as tall as they've been."

Bain, of King's, also hasn't seen Grandview this year, though he admitted, "It has crossed our mind that (playing the Greyhounds) would be an interesting rematch.

"But the old axiom -- take it one match at a time -- that's what we've tried to do all year. And you really have to be careful going into state.

"You don't want to think ahead, because you can get burned. You can get ahead a couple of games on a team and then you start thinking ahead to the next match, and all of a sudden you're fighting for your life."

Lynden Christian coach Kim DeValois, whose team has spent much of the season battling Mount Baker and King's -- the teams Grandview hopes to get past in the first two rounds -- knows the Greyhounds are a factor to be dealt with.

"You gotta look at Grandview," DeValois said when assessing tournament favorites. "The CWAC is always tough and they came out of that district No. 1. And Pullman, too. The East-side teams always play good volleyball.

"But our district is tough. Last year, our district got first (Meridian), third (King's) and fourth (Lynden Christian) at state. And this year we're coming in ranked 1-2 (LC and King's)."

Other teams that could make some serious noise this weekend include No. 4 Kiona-Benton, which opens against Port Townsend and could face CWAC foe Ephrata in the quarterfinals, and, of course, Pullman, which returns seven players from its 2004 squad.

And, even in a season that by its own standards might be considered an "off" year, Woodland can't be discounted. The Beavers have played in three of the past four championship finals.

"I don't think anyone's going to get a cakewalk into the finals. It looks brutal to me," said Bain, the King's coach. "It really depends on who shows up and gets hot and plays well.

"It's just really difficult to predict."