NAPAVINE — Forks volleyball fell one set short of advancing to the Class 2B state tournament and saw its season come to a close after splitting a pair of loser-out Southwest District IV contests Wednesday at Napavine High School.
The fourth-seeded Spartans (13-5) dispatched seventh-seed Onalaska (13-5) 26-24, 25-14, 25-16 to open the second day of district tournament action.
But Forks faced a Rainier Mountaineers (5-20) squad on an absolute tear.
The Mountaineers tied with Morton-White Pass and Toledo for the 16th and final district seed and dispatched those two squads in a pigtail playoff to reach the tournament.
Rainier lost to top-seed Kalama but beat No. 8 seed South Bend and No. 6 Ocosta for the chance to play the Spartans.
And the Mountaineers upset Forks 19-25, 25-23, 19-25, 26-24, 15-13 to earn the state berth.
“Definitely not the outcome we wanted, but so proud of all the girls and how they played with heart,” coach Jenn LeDuke said. “We will definitely miss our seniors, Nicole and Kyrissa, and thank you for all your hard work.”
The Spartans are a relatively youthful team and should return all but senior Kyrissa Duncan next season.
“We had a great season come to and end before we wanted, but I am so proud of my teams for how hard we fought to the last point,” junior Kyra Neel said. “Ready to get ‘em next year.”
Quilcene on to state
TACOMA — The Rangers earned a trip to the Class 1B state volleyball tournament at the Yakima SunDome with a 3-1 loser-out SeaTac League Tournament win over Sound Christian on Wednesday.
Quilcene (15-5) is currently ranked No. 24 in the WIAA RPI rankings, so a lower seed is expected for the 16-team state tournament set for Thursday and Friday, Nov. 11-12.
