Bainbridge’s door to the semifinals closed dramatically Nov. 15 in a 3-1 quarterfinal loss to Archbishop Murphy, and the Spartans would suffer a 3-1 loss to Pullman the next day to end their hopes of capturing their first state placing since 2006.
Still, the Spartans will come home from the 2A state tournament in Yakima having arguably played their best season in that same timeline with the program’s first-ever district championships and a 24-4 record.
Despite traveling 155 miles to the Yakima Sundome, their first opponent of the tournament hailed just 11 miles from Bainbridge. The third clash of the year between North Kitsap and Bainbridge had all the back-and-forth action Kitsap fans had come to enjoy about the volleyball Battles of the Bridge. The Vikings appeared poised to take the first set with a 19-17 lead, but a kill from Holley McFadden started a six-point run for the Spartans to steal it away 25-21.
The Spartans took over from there, the significant swing in momentum helping them pull away from the Vikings winning the second set 25-14 and set three 25-17.
Then came a true test of powers between the Spartans and Archbishop Murphy. Despite taking the first set 26-24, Bainbridge was gradually worn down and suffered a 25-21 set two loss and 25-14 set three defeat. Fighting back and poised to force the full five sets, they were unable to hold a late set four lead and fell 25-23.
With championship hopes off the table, the Spartans were unable to recover against Pullman in a four-set loss 13-25, 19-25, 25-22 and 16-25.
North Kitsap was knocked out in a 15-25, 18-25, 19-25 Toppenish sweep of the Vikings.
CK advances to state, SK out
Central Kitsap’s roster may still think itself the underdog far too often, coach Katie Pasi said, but a runner-up finish in the Cougars’ district tournament at Foss High School Nov. 16 should provide a much-needed confidence boost for their return to state.
The Cougars punched their ticket to the 3A state tournament with sweeps against Kentlake and Capital in the first two rounds Nov. 15 at Mount Tahoma High School. A hard-fought four-set win over Bellarmine meant a title clash with North Thurston, and while losing in four sets, Pasi saw her team erase an eight-point deficit late in the match. “We did what we needed to do up until the last couple points. It was a hard loss but a good tournament,” she said.
South Kitsap had entered their 4A district tournament hoping to return to state for the first time since 2000, but the Wolves had their backs against the ropes from the getgo in a first-round 3-0 loss to Tahoma.
The Wolves caught a much-needed break by facing the lowest-seeded Union in their next match but still struggled in the 3-1 win. Then against Olympia, the Wolves again went down in the first set before facility complications led to a lengthy pause in play that forced a relocation from Stadium High School’s auxiliary gym. Despite the delay, Olympia did not lose any steam and would go on to sweep the Wolves 3-0, ending their season.
