Prep volleyball: Eighth-seeded Northwest Christian upsets Freeman to win State 2B title; Garfield-Palouse claims 1B crown

While most lower-seeded teams in the postseason enjoy scoring the occasional upset win, Northwest Christian is making a habit of busting brackets as underdogs.

Eight months after the Crusaders girls basketball team stunned the State 2B basketball field by winning the championship as a No. 8 seed, the volleyball team accomplished the same feat on Thursday night.

Eighth-seeded Northwest Christian upset second-seeded Freeman 25-22, 19-25, 29-27, 25-13 to claim the program’s first State 2B volleyball title at the Yakima Valley SunDome in Yakima.

“We lost a match early in the season to Shadle and then near the end to Lind-Ritzville in five sets, but that was it. So honestly I didn’t feel like we were a No. 8 seed,” Northwest Christian coach Dave Whitehead said. “But when I saw our draw I loved it because we got to play some tough teams and that’s what you want to be doing this time of year and the girls came through.”

The Crusaders (22-2) opened the tournament Wednesday with victories over Tri-Cities Prep followed by a five-set upset of top-seeded Rainier. Then Thursday morning, NWC avenged its last loss with a semifinal win over fifth-seeded Lind-Ritzville-Sprague before toppling the Scotties (20-3) in the title match.

Whitehead credited senior middle blocker Macey Shamblin and outside/libero Kaitlyn Waters with leading a strong defensive charge over the four matches, along with the play of setters Lauren Matthews and Chlarice Carey.

Several of the NWC players, including Shamblin and Waters, also played key roles in leading the Crusaders to the basketball crown back in March.

“The girls gained so much experience from winning that basketball title and being a lower seed in that tournament too,” Whitehead said. “And there are a ton of basketball players on our bench and vice versa, so these girls are just always playing for each other and wanting to be the best support systems they can.”

For Freeman, the second-place trophy is the second in three years, along with a third-place finish last year.

In the third-place match, Lind-Ritzville-Sprague bounced back from its semifinal loss to top Manson 18-25, 25-13, 16-25, 25-18, 15-6.

No. 13 seed Davenport also earned a trophy, battling through the consolation bracket after a first-round loss to take seventh place after a 25-12, 25-21, 25-16 victory over River View.

“We have such a tough league when you see that all four of our teams that qualified earned trophies,” Whitehead said. “I think that makes it hard to seed us all because we just beat up on each other. But when it comes to this time of year that experience and toughness of our schedules really shows and makes us all better.”

Garfield-Palouse claims State 1B crown: Third-seeded Garfield-Palouse finished the State 1B tournament in impressive fashion with a 26-24, 25-18, 25-21 sweep of fourth-seeded Fellowship Christian to win the title in the SunDome.

It’s the first title for the Vikings volleyball program since 2004.

Garfield-Palouse (23-3) opened the tournament Wednesday with victories over Taholah and Providence Classical Christian, before sweeping Almira/Coulee-Hartline in the semifinals Thursday morning.

Oakesdale finished its tournament by topping seventh-seeded Almira/Coulee-Hartline 18-25, 25-18, 25-14, 26-24 to take third place with the Warriors finishing fourth. The Nighthawks were swept by Fellowship Christian in the morning’s other semifinal match.

Defending 1B champions Wilbur-Creston-Keller took home the sixth-place trophy after falling to second-seeded Neah Bay in its placing match.

Gonzaga Prep 3, Kamiakin 0: The second-seeded Bullpups (17-1) swept the top-seeded Braves in the District 6 4A title match at Kamiakin High School in Kennwick. Both teams qualified for the State 4A tournament on Nov. 21-22 at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

Mt. Spokane 3, Ridgeline 1: Delaney Davis had 11 kills and the visiting Wildcats (15-3) defeated the Falcons (13-6) in the District 6 3A championship match. Brynlee Allred had 11 kills for the Falcons.

Both teams qualified for the State 3A tournament on Nov. 21-22 at the Yakima Valley SunDome.