Sports - High Schools

POSTED: Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008

PREP VOLLEYBALL: Lynden rebounds from semifinal loss to finish third at state

KENNEWICK - Finishing the season with a win at the state tournament is something the Lynden girls' volleyball team had been aiming for since the season began.

Tumwater might have stolen the Lions' hopes of a state title, but finishing third at the Class 2A State Tournament is a pretty good consolation prize.

Lynden rebounded from a disappointing loss to the Thunderbirds, 25-18, 25-23, 19-25, 25-23, in the state semifinals to sweep Black Hills, 25-21, 25-16, 26-24 in the third-place match on Saturday, Nov. 22, at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.

"This is great," senior Alayna Kramme said. "Our hopes were really set on winning that gold ball, but this is the best we could have done at this point, and I'm just happy to go out on a win with my team."

The third-place finish is the second-highest in school history and the program's best finish since ending up second in 1999. It also marks the first time Lynden has finished the state tournament with a win while bringing home a trophy.

"It's funny because we've brought home all these trophies, but we've never won our last match at state," Lynden coach Chris Elsner said. "That's what we were hoping for."

It didn't take long for Lynden to rebound from its emotional loss to Tumwater. The Lions were smiling by the time they left the cool-down area and quickly re-focused on winning the third-place trophy. The Lions reached the same third-place match last season at state, but fell short of that goal.

"Last year the same thing happened against Tumwater, and we were so emotionally worked up we didn't come out strong for the next match," Kramme said. "That was still pretty vivid in our minds from last year, so we just went out to dinner and came back refreshed and came out and did it."

After a slow start early in the first game, Lynden jumped out to a sizable lead against the Wolves. The Lions built a 19-11 advantage at one point behind a 6-1 run to eventually take the first game. That gave them all the confidence they would need to get past Black Hills.

Jessi Roberts finished with 14 kills, six aces, and eight blocks against the Wolves. Averyl Shindruk had 10 blocks, and Jill Toronchuk had six kills and six blocks. Roberts finished the tournament with 72 kills and 21 aces.

"This means that we've improved every year," Roberts said. "When we came here the first year we got eighth. Last year we finished sixth, and this year third. We wanted to keep getting better, and that's what we did."

With their serves falling for aces and their block stopping the Wolves' attack, the Lions had a much easier time with Black Hills than they did against eventual state champion Tumwater.

The semifinal match was a rematch of last year's contest with ultimately the same result. Unlike last year, though, when Lynden won the first two games before dropping the next three, the Lions found themselves down two games to none to the Thunderbirds.

Lynden didn't go quietly, however.

"We found things that were working," Elsner said. "We were able to catch some angles and we just kept working it. Honestly I can say that we played really well. I'm not disappointed at all."

The Lions put together a strong run at the end of the third game, finishing with a 9-1 flourish, to force a fourth game. Lynden then clawed to within 24-23 in Game 4 on an ace by Brandi Benner, but the Thunderbirds were able to softly tip the ball over net on the next rally for the match's final point.

"We had some missed serves there in the first game - too many really - but we came back and won Game 3," Elsner said. "I feel for them because I know how badly they wanted to win it, but I'm proud of them. They played their hearts out. Any other team could have just rolled over when things got tough, but they didn't."

Roberts collected 22 kills against Tumwater. Shindruk collected eight blocks to break the school's record for blocks in a career. Kramme had four aces and 36 assists. Shindruk finished her career at Lynden with 218 blocks.

"I think that match was winnable," Elsner said. "We just weren't able to stop some runs. And in volleyball when you let the other team gets some runs that makes it hard. You know we wanted to take home that big gold ball, but I can't challenge the way we played. We played awesome against Tumwater."

As excited as the Lions were to finish third, it was also a little bittersweet for the senior-dominated team. Lynden started just one underclassman this season, and the graduating group has brought back three straight state tournament trophies.

"It's always hard to see them go because you watch them grow and you have a relationship with them," Elsner said. "But I'm excited to see their next chapter and what they do."

Contact Joe Sunnen at joe.sunnen@bellinghamherald.com or 756-2862.