Mount Baker, Lakeside, Kiona-Benton and
Pullman all advance to Saturday's semifinals

By PAUL SHUGAR
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

The final four of the Class 2A state volleyball tournament is set, but the favorite to walk away with the championship is anyone’s guess.

Mount Baker, Lakeside, Kiona-Benton and Pullman all advanced Friday to Saturday’s semifinals at the SunDome. Although some teams had easier paths than others.

After needing five games to dispatch Grandview 27-25, 23-25, 13-25, 25-21, 15-8 in its opener, Mount Baker needed only three games to take care of King’s — the No. 1 seed from the Northwest District. The Mounties, who finished third in the Northwest District and lost in three straight games to the Knights in the district tournament, rolled past King’s 25-16, 25-23, 25-23.

“We were kind of challenged a bit, but we stepped up to the challenge and we definitely woke up against Grandview,” Mount Baker coach Renata Detta said.

Lakeside will be next on Mount Baker’s schedule. The Eagles dropped their first game before rallying to win the next three for a 18-25, 25-14, 25-16, 25-20 win. The Spudders did do their best to force a fourth game, jumping out to a 10-3 lead. Then Lakeside rallied to tie the match 12-12 and controlled the tempo from there.

“I just said (after the first game) that we need to play our game and we’re a better team than we’re showing,” Eagles coach Kara Moffatt said. “We just had to step up and we’re really a young team. I think there were a few butterflies and girls were a little nervous out there at the start.”

Like Lakeside, Kiona-Benton also dropped its first game in its quarterfinal against Ephrata before rallying to win the next three games and take the match 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-23. Ephrata almost forced a fifth game, taking a 23-22 lead late in the fourth game. The Bears responded by winning the next three points to close out the match.

“First off, what a great game with Ephrata,” Kiona-Benton coach Jolyn Kintner said. “I have to give them credit; their defense was so scrappy that our offense just couldn’t find a hole.”

Ki-Be will face Pullman, which defeated Chelan 25-16, 20-25, 25-12, 25-13 to complete the final four. Pullman coach Jennifer Greeny said she noticed a lot of parity in this year’s tournament.

“I wasn’t surprised by anything today,” Greeny said. “The whole field of 16 has been great. ... No one has really stood out and (today) could be anybody’s night.”

In the consolation bracket, Grandview will meet Connell; Woodland will play Lynden Christian; King’s will take on Ridgefield; and Ephrata will have a matchup with Chelan. All the matches are loser-out.