Lady Lions qualify for 1B state tournament
SOAP LAKE - Only one bid to the Class 1B state finals in Yakima was available to the North Central Washington 1B league and in last night's volleyball final, the Moses Lake Christian Academy Lady Lions made sure they sent Thorp home on the bus empty handed.
The Lady Lions started strong and never looked back in sweeping the Tigers 3-0 (25-17, 25-14. 25-13) to take the crown and advance to the season's final weekend.
Behind the dominating performance, the Lady Lions (20-5) beat Thorp for the third straight time and now advance to the state finals that will take place on Nov. 11-12 at the Sundome in Yakima.
"I'm so proud of the way the girls played tonight," Lady Lions head coach Dean Spurbeck said. "We came out and had an amazing game to finish our season in league. Thorp is a solid team with a good coach, and we knew we would be in for a good fight. All the MLCA girls came out aggressive and focused, and the end result was a win. Our defense picked up a lot of ugly balls, and that was a big factor in our victory."
Not only was their defense a key, but once again the Academy's offense rewarded the efforts of setter Kristina Firouzi who finished the night with 29 assists.
The senior was able to set the tone and that led to a 13 kill performance by Susan Timofeyev while the Verhage-tandem of Melissa (10 kills) and Rachel (eight kills) aided the Lady Lions' offensive assault.
"Our passing wasn't always great but Kristina would chase them down and put up some great sets and our hitters were always ready to go," Spurbeck said. "As a team we seem to be peaking at the right time which will be a great advantage going into state."
Timofeyev and Firouzi each served up three aces apiece and Rachel Verhage added six aces and two blocks.
Thorp set up the championship showdown by defeating Wilson Creek 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-22) earlier in the day, effectively eliminating the Lady Devils.
"It was a tough match where the girls battled and that's what I was looking for," Wilson Creek head coach Mike Ottis said. "I would have liked the win obviously, but they played well."
Holly Wilson led Wilson Creek (10-9) with 10 kills and eight blocks in the last match of her high school career.
"She had an exceptional match tonight and was all over the net," Ottis said. "I was pretty impressed with that performance."
Kali Winfrey added seven kills and Tori Diamond eight assists for the Lady Devils who will not repeat their trip to Yakima and the 1B state finals from last season.