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Champs again: Volleyball four-peat
La Conner loves a winner. And the community is always up for a parade.
Townspeople and tourists alike enjoyed both Saturday afternoon, turning out to honor the arrival of La Conner High School's 2B volleyball champions from Yakima. The day before they secured the program's seventh state title.
Crowds gathered at Gilkey Square and lined First Street to greet the team as it rode through town shortly after 12 p.m. on Hook & Ladder fire trucks, feted with music from the pep band and cheered on with repeated sounds of and paper sprays from confetti poppers.
It was a festive scene.
This team, while expected to contend for the state crown the school has held since 2018, was not the favorite entering action Nov. 10.
Beset with heavy graduation losses and having lost a key non-league road test in straight sets to 2B foe Manson in October, La Conner traveled to Yakima as the third seed.
But the Lady Braves, guided by Hall of Fame head coach Suzanne Marble, saved their best for last, losing just one set in the tournament. Read the page 4 story.
All the more reason to celebrate, And with bells and whistles at that.
Arrangements were made for the team bus to stop at the fire station on Chilberg Road and have players and coaches ride downtown on the Town's firetrucks.
"The La Conner fire department was honored to be included in the celebration of the La Conner High School volleyball state championship," Fire Chief Aaron Reinstra told the Weekly News. "It was amazing to see the community come out and celebrate the girls' hard work and dedication."
It was an occasion for young and old alike. Parents and grandparents captured the moment on their cell phone cameras, in several cases doing so while standing near kids on bicycles and infants in strollers, backpacks and child carriers.
From First Street, the celebratory serpentine – followed by Bruce James and Patty McCormick in private vehicles – wound its way to campus. Melissa Miller, whose daughter, Kennedy, delivered several key service points at Yakima, said she and other parents planned to meet near there to cheer the team on further.
The support was much appreciated.
"Wow, what a welcome home!" Marble said afterward. "Our families and community are amazing! The team felt so much love from everyone and it is a day our team will never forget. We are so lucky to live in such an amazing town like La Conner and I can't wait to put a '2022' up on the Home of the Braves sign."
On a mission to capture its seventh state title, the La Conner High School volleyball team braced for battle at the Yakima SunDome Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
Two battles, in fact.
The Lady Braves, having worn the 2B volleyball tournament net crown since 2018, were tasked with avenging a late regular season loss to Manson and defeating a powerhouse Colfax which La Conner had not beaten in the championship round in five previous meetings.
All on the same day.
But when the dust had settled, it was a case of mission accomplished. The team had entered the tournament seeded third behind Manson and top-ranked Kalama.
La Conner posted an impressive straight-sets triumph in the semifinals over Manson. The Lady Braves then prevailed 3-1 (25-13, 24-26, 25-16, 25-19) over Colfax, which had ousted Kalama in their semifinal.
Under coach Suzanne Marble, La Conner first won the state tournament in 2002. Titles followed in 2006, 2007, 2018, 2019, 2021 and now 2022. There was no state tourney in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senior outside hitter Ellie Marble, who signed her college letter of intent with Central Washington University prior to the team’s departure, and senior middle blocker Makayla Herrera posed near impossible matchups throughout.
“The size of La Conner was the difference,” an NFHS network commentator said on the network’s broadcast after the Lady Braves had downed Colfax.
He had marveled at Marble’s work at the net, especially a monster kill that thwarted a Colfax comeback bid midway through the fourth set.
“She knows when to hit it hard and when to go off-speed,” he noted. “She has a good feel for it right now.”
Senior middle blocker Josie Harper and junior outside hitter Morgan Huizenga each delivered key points during Friday’s action,
Junior setter Abby Udlock fueled the attack while senior Kennedy Miller provided important service points, most notably in the match with Manson.
Thursday, La Conner had 3-0 wins against Okanogan and Lind-Ritzville-Sprague.
Okanogan appeared amped in the first-round and briefly led 16-13 and 19-15 in the second set before the Lady Braves pulled away for a 25-20, 25-23, 25-17 verdict. A deft Herrera tap that found open court space followed by an Okanogan net violation closed out the match.
Against L-R-S, La Conner controlled tempo with consistency at the service stripe, blocks from Herrera and Harper and cross-court spikes by Marble and Huizenga.
Peaking at the best possible time, following a long regular season with a brutal non-league schedule including foes from the 1A-4A ranks, La Conner was stoked for its rematch with the Lady Trojans.
The teams were even through most of the first set, deadlocking at 19-19 before La Conner finished with a flurry – a 6-2 run sparked by Huizenga’s serving and three kills from Marble, one a soft tap and the other two blistering spikes.
The Lady Braves bolted to a quick 11-3 lead, riding multiple kills by Marble and Herrera, and never looked back. A Huizenga kill capped a 25-15 win.
Behind Udlock’s serving, the team jumped out to a 6-2 set three lead, a spurt defined by a nifty assist from Harper to Marble for an emphatic spike.
“Any time they need a point,” the NFHS broadcaster said, “they go to Marble.”
More points followed in what ended up a 25-22 third set final score.
That set up the championship match with prior tourney nemesis Colfax.
For Ellie Marble, it was poetic justice.
“This means a lot to go out beating them in a state championship,” she told the media. “It means so much. This team has been working so hard all year and now to go out my senior year like this is incredible.”
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