Royal advances, Warden ousted in SCAC volleyball playoffs

by Neil Pierson<br>Herald Sports Editor
| October 30, 2007 9:00 PM

ROYAL CITY - The Royal Lady Knights volleyball team kept its season alive on Saturday with a three-game sweep of the Mabton Vikings in South Central Athletic Conference playoff action.

Royal won by scores of 25-19, 25-12, 25-16 in a play-in match between the East Division's No. 4 seed and the West Division's No. 5 seed. The Knights will play again tonight at 7 p.m., taking on West No. 1 seed Goldendale at Zillah Middle School.

Stephanie Bartlett had a match-high 10 kills for Royal. Janae Anderson chipped in 15 assists, three kills and three aces. Kelcy Jansen added 11 digs, four kills and one blocks, while Tracy Iverson had four aces and four blocks.

Granger 3, Warden 2

GRANGER - The Lady Cougars weren't so fortunate to escape from their Saturday play-in match, as East No. 5 Warden dropped a five-game heartbreaker to the Spartans, fourth seed from the West.

Granger rallied from a two-games-to-one deficit to win 23-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-15, 15-11. Warden head coach Jeff Kottong said his squad had an opportunity to close things out in game four, leading 13-12, but coughed up 13 of the last 15 points.

In game five, the Spartans took a quick 7-1 lead and never looked back, ending the Cougars' season.

"The girls have the ability to play real well, but a momentum change can kill us," Kottong said via e-mail. "We had a number of hitting and net errors at inopportune times that really hurt us."

Kacey Kisler buried a team-high 11 kills for Warden and added two aces and one block. Kelsey Garner was 10 of 10 serving with six kills and 13 digs. Brandi Kisler (seven kills, three blocks, three aces), Amanda Martinez (four aces) and Amanda Martin (13 assists) also had key contributions for the Cougars.

All-league selections

Three Royal players and two Warden players were named to the All-SCAC East Division squads on Monday night.

Royal senior Stephanie Bartlett was a first-team selection. Teammate Janae Anderson, along with Warden's Kelsey Garner, were second-team honorees. Warden's Brandi Kisler and Royal's Leslie Brown earned honorable mention accolades.

River View's Becky Flores was named the division's Player of the Year and the Panthers' Katie Gaumer earned Coach of the Year honors.