Lady Warriors claim ultimate prize

YAKIMA - A few seniors and a large amount of juniors and

sophomores have grown up together as one of the better collections

of female athletic talent in the Class 1B level in the entire state

of Washington.

ALSO: MLCA finishes with flourish

YAKIMA - A few seniors and a large amount of juniors and sophomores have grown up together as one of the better collections of female athletic talent in the Class 1B level in the entire state of Washington.

But it wasn't always fun.

Taking beatings as a varsity team in their earlier years, the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Lady Warriors athletes that made up this season's volleyball team, took their fair share of lumps in this sport as well as basketball and softball.

Still nature would be allowed to run its course and nothing could hold back these young women's athletic gifts and soon the winning would come and it wouldn't stop.

Unless of course it was in the hunt for a state title.

Over the previous two school years, ACH found itself at the top of the rankings in basketball and volleyball and found themselves bringing home hardware in those sports and softball but never the big prize.

A first place trophy was becoming like finding a proverbial needle in a haystack.

Yet, led by seniors Nikki Osborne and Sarah Gloyn, these girls' reach is long and their desire to win extremely high and when they tried once again for that needle on Friday night in the Class 1B state volleyball championship, they didn't just find it, they took the whole haystack home with them.

That's because after a resounding 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-23) win over Christian Faith in the final, ACH is no longer the perennial bridesmaid. They now stand at the podium as the state's best, that elusive championship of any kind now in hand.

"It's great to watch all this hard work pay off finally," Osborne said. "It's not just about the seniors on this team because every single player was a part of this win. But for me knowing that will be the last game I will ever play in high school and to know it's in the state championship, its great to watch it end like that."

The other senior for ACH was Shelby Knopp, as the trio finish their volleyball careers as champions.

"The Warriors came into this season knowing they would have to play every ball to the best of their ability and that would turn into points, which would turn into sets, which would turn into games, which would lead them to the championship and it did," ACH head coach Katie Stephens said.  "They truly earned this title and came out determined to make this last time they played all together the best that they played all together. I couldn't ask for a more out of a team. The amount of confidence and heart that they came out on the court with in the championship game is what coaches long for."

It didn't hurt Stephens' cause that a large number of players contributed to their success in the final.

Leading the ACH charge was Osborne (12 kills, 12 assists, six blocks, three aces), Madeline Isaak (20 assists, 13 digs), Gloyn (12 digs, five kills, three aces), Brynna Stevens (11 kills), and Jordan Jones (three aces).

Another key component to the win, according to Osborne, was the Lady Warriors' ability to not just win, but slowly dismantle what was once the state's top-ranked team, at least until Christian Faith ran into the ACH team.

"It's great to end with a bang like it did," Osborne said. "If it went four of five games there is room for error and we have no room for error on our team. So we just came out and played the way we know how to play. It was the best we played this year because we never looked back after a bad play or a point against us. We were up on every point and it was very cool to watch that."

Now with a new season approaching and practices for basketball set to begin today the ACH girls will enjoy this moment and maybe take the lessons learned this fall into their next challenge.

"Throughout the tournament in tense moments, instead of falling apart and becoming divided the Warriors grouped together and battled harder holding each other up," Stephens said. "Our motto has been 'hold the rope'. I asked each of the girls to look at their teammates and to imagine that the only thing separating them from a fall was a rope that their teammate was holding. I said that when they could all look at each other in the eye and truly know that the person on the other end of the rope would be willing to do whatever it took to hold that rope and support them then they would succeed. Last night every player in every role held that rope and the Warriors were able to bring home a hard won state championship trophy."

Academy finishes with flourish

Following their quarterfinal loss to the Lady Warriors on Thursday, the Moses Lake Christian Academy Lady Lions found a way to end their tournament voyage with a strong push toward a fourth-place trophy.

Moses Lake Christian Academy (22-6) first defeated Seton Catholic 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-23) that morning to set the stage for a 4th/7th place showdown against King's Way Christian.

The Lady Lions would not leave disappointed as they triumphed 3-1 (18-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-17) over King's Way Christian and leave Yakima with only a five-set loss to the eventual state champions ACH.

"I told the girls fourth was much better because you will have won the game, where seventh even though you placed it was a game you lost and you would be unhappy," Academy head coach Dean Spurbeck said. "We figured out Rachel Verhage could hit against their single middle block all day so we just fed her the ball.  Our defense for the last couple of games was more focused lead by the passing of Madison Yamane."

Rachel Verhage finished with 19 kills and three aces while Susan Timofeyev had 10 kills and four digs.

Melissa Verhage had three kills and five digs and Lady Lions setter Kristina Firouzi had 28 assists and five aces.

In the earlier game, Rachel Verhage had 15 kills, Timofeyev added nine kills and five digs, and Melissa Verhage contributed six kills.

Firouzi had 25 assists and three aces and Mallory Tye served up three aces.

"I am very proud of this team and how hard they worked and how much we learned," Spurbeck said. "We put in a much harder offense this season and they accepted it and excelled even more then I thought they could.  It is a group that likes to be pushed and learn as much as possible.  Mallory, Melissa, and Kristina are the seniors on this team and will be greatly missed.  Their play and leadership was a big reason we could play at the level of volleyball we did."