Lady Braves serve notice with big tourney win

Their goal at the start of the season was to win the big tournament in Eastern Washington come November.

The La Conner High volleyball team got an early taste of that kind of success by capturing top honors at the 10-school Wenatchee Invitational this past weekend.

The Lady Braves swept 4A Wenatchee Eastmont and 1A Chelan to win their pool and then defeated 2A Grandview and 4A Wenatchee High in the tourney bracket to bring home the gold.

“The girls played better and better with each set,” La Conner High head coach Suzanne Marble said afterward.

La Conner edged Eastmont 2-1 and was a 3-0 winner over Chelan.

The Lady Braves went 25-19, 19-25, 25-20 against Eastmont and posted 25-13, 25-15, 25-18 scores in the Chelan match.

La Conner prevailed 25-22, 25-18 over Grandview in the tourney semifinals, setting the stage for what was a surprisingly quick two-set finale opposite Wenatchee.

“We came out relaxed and focused in the finals and ready to compete and win,” said Marble.

It showed.

La Conner downed Wenatchee by twin 25-13 margins.

“We played around with some different lineups, and the girls really responded positively,” Marble said.

The proof is in the stat sheet.

Olivia Hedlund set the pace in Wenatchee, recording 88 assists for the tourney winners along with seven kills, 29 digs, and three service aces.

Lindsay Lowry added 10 kills and a pair of aces, while Leanne Swan netted five kills and delivered three service whiffs.

Freshman Matty Lagerwey finished in double-digit attacks, logging 10 kills.

Ashley Watkins paced La Conner’s hitters with 32 kills, with Kamea Luna chipping in another 23. Both made their presence felt in other areas, as well.

Watkins collected 39 digs, three blocks and six aces. Luna tallied 33 digs, 12 blocks, and six aces.

The Henriksen twins again provided a lethal 1-2 punch for the Lady Braves.

Heather Henriksen left Wenatchee having served 52 times without a miss, two of which were aces. She also tied her sister with 59 digs, and chipped in 18 kills.

Nicole Henriksen was superb on serve receive, dishing off 69 passes to go with her 59 digs.

“This,” stressed Marble, “was a great win for us as we are three weeks away from District Tournament play.”

It was likewise a great win earlier in the week when La Conner beat NW2B rival Darrington in straight-sets, a triumph that saw the Lady Braves improve to 8-0 on the campaign.

The 25-17, 25-12, 25-11 victory was also La Conner’s fourth straight in conference action.

Luna again excelled in all areas. She had four kills, three aces, and a team-best seven blocks.

“Kamea was huge for us,” Marble said.

So, too, was Hedlund. She provided 20 assists, two blocks and three aces.

Watkins matched Hedlund with a trio of aces, and added eight kills and two blocks.

Swan likewise contributed two blocks.

Heather Henriksen, in a tuneup for what would be her flawless work behind the service stripe at Wenatchee, placed 21 straight serves, three of which were aces. She also rang up four kills and 13 digs.

Nicole Henriksen led La Conner with 17 serve receive passes while ripping four aces of her own. She had 10 digs as well.

“We went to Darrington focused and ready to play,” Marble noted. “The girls were strong from start to finish.”

It helped that the Lady Braves served at a 94 percent clip.

They will be looking for similar results today, Wednesday, when the Lady Braves continue a busy three-day stretch by hosting league foe Cedar Park Christian at 6:30 p.m.

La Conner, which visited Shoreline Christian late Tuesday, sails to Friday Harbor tomorrow for a 4:30 p.m. match with the Lady Wolverines.