La Conner net team takes long road to State

If the journey of a thousand miles indeed begins with a single step, the La Conner High volleyball program has already made giant strides in its pursuit of another State net crown.

The Lady Braves drove twice to Southwest Washington last week for District tourney tests against top-flight foes.

They returned somewhat road weary, but geared up for another 2B title run.

“We probably logged a thousand miles in a week for Districts,” said La Conner head coach Suzanne Marble, whose 18-3 club hits the road again tomorrow for Yakima.

The Lady Braves will cruise to the Sun Dome as one of the favorites in a deep and talented Nov. 14 and 15 State bracket.

They’ll have plenty of company at the top, teams with which they are now well acquainted.

La Conner placed fourth in a high-octane District format highlighted by wins over Raymond, Toutle Lake, and Mossyrock.

Those triumphs negated tough five-set District losses to Napavine and Wahkiakum.

“Overall,” Marble said afterward, “the (District) tournament was a good and challenging experience for us. We had to play more than three hours away from home against powerful opponents.

“This,” she stressed, “will help us mentally as we go to Yakima on Thursday.”

Sweeping Mossyrock after dropping the five-setter to Napavine was a huge confidence builder.

“It was a much-win situation for us,” said Marble. “We had to win in order to be a No. 1 seed for State. We needed to beat Mossyrock, and we did.”

It was definitely a battle.

La Conner prevailed 27-25, 25-21, 27-25, with two of the three sets extended to extra points.

Olivia Hedlund ignited the Lady Braves with 26 assists and was also flawless in 15 attempts from the service stripe, two of which were aces.

She also made her presence felt at the net with four kills.

As is their forte, the Lady Braves were able to attack from multiple spots on the floor, using several hitters.

Heather Henriksen, Kamea Luna, Emma Christianson, and Ashley Watkins joined Hedlund in notching kills.

Nicole Henriksen and Christianson were in double figures in the digs column as well, while Heather Henriksen added another five to go along with a perfect 14-of-14 night behind the service line.

As uplifting as was the win over Mossyrock, Marble also took solace in her team’s play in the setbacks to Napavine and Wahkiakum.

“Napavine had an amazingly talented freshman who was poised and very athletic,” Marble said after the 3-2 loss. “It was a great point-for-point battle.”

La Conner won the first and third sets. Napavine took the second and fourth frames by a combined five points before closing out the match with a 15-11 verdict in the decisive set.

It was a similar story for the Lady Braves when paired opposite Wahkiakum.

“It was really a tough battle,” said Marble. “It was a tough loss, but I was pleased with the five sets.”

Yet another positive develop-ment was the emergence at District of Lindsay Lowry, who came off the bench to deliver six kills each against Wahkiakum and in La Conner’s stunning five-set win over No. 2 Toutle Lake.

“She was definitely a strong force for us,” Marble said of Lowry.

The Lady Braves, meanwhile, are looking to make a strong bid at Yakima starting Friday.