2A state volleyball: Woodland reaches semifinals

LACEY – In between their two matches Friday, the Woodland volleyball players relaxed over lunch.

They also served up a new attitude.

Woodland followed a jittery five-set victory over North Kitsap on Friday morning with a dominant three-set sweep of Cheney at the Class 2A state volleyball tournament at St. Martin’s University.

That put the Beavers (15-5) into Saturday’s semifinals against White River (20-0).

Ridgefield swept Bellingham in its first-round match before falling to White River in four sets. The Spudders play Cheney in the fifth-place semifinal on Saturday morning.

When Woodland returned to the gym after a four-hour break, coach Jeff Nesbitt knew his team would play better in its evening quarterfinal match.

“We just walked in with a different demeanor,” said Nesbitt, who is at his final state tournament after 31 years of coaching. “They weren’t nervous.”

What followed was a three-set sweep (25-15, 25-17, 25-19). Woodland controlled the play at the net, executed their passing and was in the right spots to dig out several would-be kills against Cheney (16-2).

“We were just having fun,” senior hitter Kayla Fredricks said. “That’s the one thing that clicks us together.”

Taylor Foster had 15 kills, six blocks and 10 digs. Fredricks added eight kills and 11 digs. Elle Nesbitt had 34 assists and 12 digs.

“Everyone had a great attitude,” Foster said. “We had awesome passes. Elle was setting awesome. We were just all into it.”

The ease of the evening match was in stark contrast to Woodland’s first-round match against North Kitsap (16-3) of Poulsbo.

Woodland bounced back from a sluggish first set with a solid second set. After another hiccup in the third set, the Beavers jumped to a 17-6 lead in the fourth set, which they won 25-19.

“When we start strong in games, we usually finish strong,” Elle Nesbitt said. “It was really important to get those first few points under our belts.”

That set the stage for the fifth set. After Woodland jumped to a 9-4 lead, North Kitsap pulled within 11-9.

Gelena Wakefield’s kill gave Woodland a 13-9 lead. Foster then ended the match with a kill to give Woodland the win at 15-11.

While Woodland had the tightest first-round match of the tournament, Ridgefield had one of the most lopsided. The Spudders swept Bellingham, which entered the tournament 10-8. The set scores were 25-11, 25-13, 25-8.

Sarena Bartley led the way with 18 kills and 7 digs. Bella Gama, Anika Nicoll and Madi Harter each had three aces.

“We’ve been doing a lot of teamwork and mental visualization to prepare for this,” Bartley said after that match. “I feel like we’re clicking really well together.”

But Ridgefield (22-3) couldn’t keep the momentum going in the quarterfinals against White River. After dropping the first set 25-21, the Spudders took the second set 25-17.

White River won the third set 25-21. Leading 22-19 in the fourth set, Ridgefield was in position to extend the match. But White River closed with a rally to win 25-23.

“I think we were kind of panicking,” Ridgefield coach Sabrina Dobbs said. “Physically, our skills are amazing. But the other team’s defense was just killing it.”

WOODLAND 3, NORTH KITSAP 2

(15-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-19, 15-11)

Woodland

Highlights – Elle Nesbitt 1 ace, 4 kills, 42 assists, 3 blocks, 12 digs; Kayla Fredricks 2 aces, 11 kills, 32 digs; Elyse Booker 2 aces, 32 digs; Taylor Foster 17 kills, 4 blocks, 4 digs; Vanessa Franke 11 kills, 21 digs.

WOODLAND 3, CHENEY 0

(25-15, 25-17, 25-19)

Woodland

Highlights – Elle Nesbitt 34 assists, 12 digs; Vanessa Franke 16-16 serving, 2 aces, 9 kills, 3 digs; Taylor Foster 11-11 serving, 1 ace, 15 kills, 6 blocks, 10 digs; Kayla Fredricks 8 kills, 11 digs.

RIDGEFIELD 3, BELLINGHAM 0

(25-11, 25-13, 25-8)

Ridgefield

Highlights – Sarena Bartley 18 kills, 7 digs, 3 blocks, 1 ace; Bella Gama 3 aces, 4 kills, 1 block, 8 digs; Madi Harter 3 aces, 9 kills, 9 digs; Anika Nicoll 3 aces, 8 kills, 1 block; Maddy Campbell 2 aces, 39 assists, 14 digs; Haley Paul 7 digs.

WHITE RIVER 3, RIDGEFIELD 1,

(25-21, 17-25, 25-21, 25-23)

Ridgefield

Highlights – Maddie Campbell 24 digs, 1 ace; Madi Harter 15 kills, 4 blocks, 16 digs; Sarena Bartley 25 kills, 3 blocks, 12 digs; Anika Nicoll 5 kills, 7 blocks, 3 digs; Hailee Taylor  4 blocks, 1 kill; Bella Gama 46 assists, 4 kills, 1 ace, 3 blocks, 9 digs.