Nov. 12—Box Score
At Yakima Valley SunDome
RIVERHAWKS 3, HURRICANES 2
Toledo 25 23 18 25 15 — 3
MV Christian 19 25 25 22 9 — 2
SCOTTIES 3, RIVERHAWKS 0
Toledo 11 14 18 — 0
Freeman 25 25 25 — 3
MOUNTAINEERS 3, WARRIORS 0
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Cle Elum-R. 18 16 19 — 0
Rainier 25 25 25 — 3
TIGERS 3, MOUNTAINEERS 2
Tonasket 25 17 22 25 15 — 3
Rainier 20 25 25 20 9 — 2
YAKIMA — Both Toledo and Rainier were eliminated from state title contention Wednesday night in Yakima, when the Riverhawks and Mountaineers lost in the quarterfinals of the 2B State Tournament.
No. 9 Toledo was swept by No. 1 Freeman 25-11, 25-14, 25-18, while No. 3 Rainier fell in a back-and-forth thriller against No. 6 Tonasket 20-25, 25-17, 25-22, 20-25, 9-15.
The Riverhawks won a similar nail-biter against No. 8 Mount Vernon Christian earlier in the day to reach the quarterfinals, as Toledo won that matchup 25-19, 23-25, 18-25, 25-22, 15-9.
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After the third set, when Toledo trailed 2-1, Toledo coach Whitney Nailon was honest with her team during the timeout between sets.
“I just honestly ripped them,” Nailon said. “I didn’t really give them a choice … You have to finish, and they responded. That was nice to see that resiliency from them.”
That resiliency carried over into the quarterfinal, where the Riverhawks improved in every set against the top-seeded Scotties.
Nailon said that in preparation for the Freeman matchup, she made multiple changes, including pushing Ellie Fallon to the middle and changes to the defensive plan.
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It didn’t work well in the first set against Freeman, but the Riverhawks were able to piece together a few runs in Sets 2 and 3.
“If you can’t pivot on the fly, you’re gonna get smoked,” Nailon said. “To get 14 and 18, I feel really good about that.
“They just responded. Teams usually can’t do that,” the Toledo coach added. “Yes we lost, but we got better every single set and after every single adjustment. Going into (Thursday), we’re gonna be just fine.”
Against Mount Vernon Christian, Ellie Fallon tallied 28 kills, seven digs, three aces, and three blocks, and Sidney Kruger logged 29 assists and a kill. Abby Umbriaco finished with seven kills and six blocks, and Lexi Young posted seven kills, four digs, and three blocks.
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Taysia Miller also “came in clutch” with several plays that helped flip the momentum in Toledo’s favor.
Against Freeman, Fallon logged 13 kills, three digs, and three blocks, Young added six kills, Miller posted seven digs, and Carver added five digs.
On Thursday, Toledo will have the chance to earn its first state volleyball trophy in school history.
The Riverhawks (17-5) came close last year, as they were within one win of the 7th/8th game, but they let a 2-0 lead slip away in a matchup against River View to fall just shy of that trophy.
This year, they’ll face No. 4 Liberty Bell on Thursday at 8 a.m., and the winner will advance to the 5th/6th game.
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“We’re in such a great opportunity to bring home some hardware,” Nailon said. “They’re ready to be the first team to bring something home.”
Rainier will also be playing for a chance at the 5th/6th game after its quarterfinal loss against Tonasket.
The Mountaineers (17-5) earned their spot in that quarterfinal with a 25-18, 25-16, 25-19 victory over No. 14 Cle Elum-Roslyn in the first round.
It’s a path that Rainier took two years ago, when it bounced back from a quarterfinal loss by winning two straight games to finish fifth, just one year after taking fourth as the No. 9 seed in the tournament.
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Rainier will face No. 7 Northwest Christian (Colbert) in an elimination game tomorrow morning.
If both Mountaineers and Riverhawks win their morning matchups, they will face off in the 5th/6th game at noon.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
