YAKIMA – For La Heart volleyball, reaching the Class 1A state semifinals for the second yr in a row doesn’t really feel like historical past repeating.
Slightly, it’s the following chapter.
With 11 of 14 gamers again from final yr’s third-place group, the Wildcats used that have to enter the Yakima Valley SunDome on Friday unfazed and targeted.
La Heart (21-1) swept its quarterfinal foe Bear Creek after additionally sweeping the morning’s first-round match over Zillah.
That places the No. 3 seed Wildcats in Saturday’s semifinals in opposition to No. 2 Cascade Christian, which La Heart beat in a five-set thriller in final yr’s quarterfinals.
Final season, La Heart earned its highest state end because the Wildcats completed third in 1995. Senior captain Billie Ross stated that accomplishment marked the baseline for this season.
“It feels like a continuation of last year,” Ross stated. “I think we have worked so much harder for what we want this year. It’s really good getting most of the girls back from last year. The team chemistry is just awesome.”
La Heart cruised previous No. 11 Bear Creek, profitable 25-13, 25-20, 25-13. That got here after a equally dominant efficiency over No. 14 Zillah (25-13, 25-17, 25-9).
“We weren’t underestimating anyone,” Ross stated. “We came here knowing we had a fight to win. We didn’t want to second-guess ourselves. We came in guns blazing.”
Two different Trico League groups are additionally alive for Class 1A {hardware}.
No. 9 seed Stevenson reached the quarterfinals with a tense 26-24, 27-25, 25-23 win over No. 8 Lynden Christian. Olivia Fauth had 14 kills and 7 blocks whereas Samia Rudd added 11 kills.
The Bulldogs (17-5) then ran right into a buzzsaw, shedding 25-14, 25-12 and 25-21 to a top-seeded Chelan group that has received the final 4 1A state titles. Stevenson will play in a fifth-place semifinals Saturday needing a win to clinch this system’s first state trophy.
After being swept within the first spherical by Cascade Christian, No. 15 seed Seton Catholic stayed alive by beating No. 10 Bellevue Christian in 4 units (25-23, 25-23, 17-25, 25-19). That put the Cougars into the seventh-place semifinal and the possibility to earn this system’s second state trophy (Seton positioned third within the 1B event in 2011).
No. 16 seed Kalama noticed its season finish with three-set losses to Chelan and Lynden Christian.