ACH on doorstep of 'finally' winning title

YAKIMA - They have been arguably one of the best collection of high school girls athletes in Class 1B for the past few years.

The Almira/Coulee-Hartline volleyball team is composed of a core group of young women who have challenged for state supremacy in the sport as well as basketball and softball since the 2008-2009 school year.

But not one title run ended with the big trophy - a state title.

However, last night the ACH squad came back from an early one game deficit to defeat Tekoa-Oakesdale 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-23) in the Class 1B state semifinals at the Yakima SunDome and are now on the cusp of that elusive title.

Tonight they will take on Christian Faith at 6:30 p.m. for the state's top prize and a piece of personal history.

"We have been working so hard every single year so now its finally here and we want to get it done," ACH senior Nikki Osborne said. "We are tired of coming short that's for sure. We're very proud of every thing we have done but we are waiting for our big moment in one of the sports."

Osborne finished with 18 kills, 14 digs and three aces and she was aided by Madeline Isaak's 26 assists, Brynna Stevens' four blocks, and Sarah Gloyn's 13 digs.

ACH (22-2) moved into the semifinal round with a tense 3-2 (25-11, 22-25, 20-25, 25-8, 15-10) win over the Moses Lake Christian Academy Lady Lions (20-6) in the quarterfinals as one team's experience trumped another's youthful talents.

Despite falling behind 2-1, the Lady Warriors found a way to check themselves and get back on track as they steamrolled to an easy win in the fourth set to prepare the stage for the match decider.

"Part of the reason why ACH is so mentally tough is that they go to state in softball, basketball, and volleyball," Lady Lions head coach Dean Spurbeck said. "That is something that we are trying to work on. You can see by the scores we are there and then not there. That has some things to do with us being younger. I think it was more mental. We have three hitters they have  two, but they are stronger mentally than we are."

To put into perspective the disparity in set scores, MLCA scored barely enough combined points - 29 - to win one set in the three that they lost.

Yet, despite their having a deep well of athletic experiences to tap into, the ACH girls were still aware that their season could still come to a premature end once the Lady Lions escaped the third set with the five-point win.

"They just would never give up," Isaak said of the Lady Lions. "Someone would get a hand on it or try to get the ball back over. They have great attitudes. I never knew for sure if we could pull it off. They never got down on themselves."

Osborne said it came down to knowing her and her teammates' capabilities and what they want to accomplish while in Yakima.

"We didn't dig as deep as we can in the second and third games and we came out fired up," Osborne said. "We were ready to play because we didn't want to lose anymore. It was one of our better games. We talked more and read each other really well."

Stephens voiced agreement with her middle blocker.

"I think we were playing together and each girl was doing what they needed to do," Stephens said. "We communicated well and were aggressive and those were the games that we were able to take."

The Lady Warriors coach also left impressed with the Academy's will to win.

"They fight by getting a dig or just getting to a ball off of a hit," Stephens said. "We would struggle to make a pass and lost some of that confidence that we usually have. It just showed that we hadn't seen a lot of that this year and in this game I saw some 'oh no's.'"

Eventually ACH went back to the mindset of just being their "goofy" selves and it worked out according to Stephens.

"We knew what we were here to do and we had to go out and show it," Stephens said. "I said we had to earn every point. So then (MLCA) would have a killer hit and we came up with a better dig. The girls were able to maintain by playing loose. They went back to what they know."

ACH was led by Osborne's 20 kills, 17 digs, and five blocks, while Isaak added 28 assists, 13 kills, and five aces.

Gloyn chipped in with 10 kills and three aces for ACH as Stevens also stepped up to the tune of nine kills and three aces.

The Academy was led by Rachel Verhage's 10 kills and six digs, Susan Timofeyev's nine kills, nine digs, and three blocks, and Kristina Firouzi's 24 assists.

Both teams set up their encounter with impressive first-round wins.

The Lady Lions came out 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-18) victors over perennial top state finishers, Klickitat, in a match that saw the Academy trail in every set before pulling away late in all three.

"The first game we started slow but we served our way back into the set," Spurbeck said. "We made them miserable because they couldn't get a good pass on the ball to be able to set their big player (Samantha Brewer). Serving well at any level is important because it doesn't allow another team to run their offense."

In the final set, the Lady Lions trailed 16-13 and led 19-18 before running off the match's last six points to record the sweep.

"We ran three different hitters at once and they didn't know where to go," Spurbeck said of Klickitat. "They couldn't get to where we were hitting and once we get going it's hard to get us get back."

Melissa Verhage had nine aces and six kills, Rachel Verhage added 11 kills and four blocks, Timofeyev had seven kills and Firouzi ended up with 23 assists.

"I am actually really proud of my team even if I feel like we could have gone a little further," the senior Firouzi said. "But in the end, we all put out all that we could and left it out on the court. Even though we are not playing for first anymore we are going to go out there, go all out to do the best we can and go out with a bang. I have faith that we will do that."

With a win this morning against Seton Catholic, the Lady Lions would play in the 4th/7th place game at 2 p.m. against the winner of the Trout Lake-Glenwood/King's Way Christian match.

A loss would end their season without a trophy to bring home.

"I think they did very well and we're only going to get better," Spurbeck said. "I am very proud of how we played. A few little tweaks here and there and ACH could have been the ones to disappear and we could have won. We are now focusing on getting fourth. We forget that game other than what we can learn from it. Our championship is fourth."

During the Academy's win, the Lady Warriors were finalizing a 3-0 (25-8, 25-9, 25-8) thrashing of Neah Bay on the next court over.

The easy win may have played a big role in ACH's later win over the Lady Lions.

"I think it was big because the girls had energy after the game and we weren't worn down any," Stephens said. "We were real focused. We just came out and took care of business and we were ready for the next match. I was worried about us relaxing a bit and even though it was a nice win. I had concerns because it was so uncompetitive."

Stevens had 11 aces and five kills for ACH as Osborne opened up her state ledger with eight kills, eight blocks, and four digs.

Isaak ended up with 15 assists and Sarah Gloyn had five kills.

"Last year we played a not-so-good team from the west side and played down to their level," Isaak said. "Now we are playing to win and not playing scared. We are going to play at our level the whole time. That's very important because if we play down then it ruins our flow and our state of mind. You have to play up the whole time so when you play a tough game it makes us stay up and play better."

Now, they are one more match away from going from better to the best.