ADNA — The Adna volleyball team has been waiting for a long time to win back the district title crown. Prior to Saturday, the Pirates hadn’t won the district championship in 12 years.
So even though the final day of the district tournament got behind schedule and the title game was pushed back by more than two hours, the Pirates didn’t mind waiting a little longer.
“It was a long day today,” Adna coach Wendie Dotson said. “But it was definitely worth the wait.”
The Pirates won their third district championship in school history on Saturday, winning the title after topping Toutle Lake 25-16, 25-21, 17-25, 25-17. It will be the first time in school history that Adna (18-0, 9-0 C2BL) will enter the state tournament undefeated.
“Hopefully we can keep that going for a bit,” Dotson said with a laugh.
Immediately after the win, Gaby Guard and Charissa Schierman made their way over to the scorers table, where they lifted the trophy and brought it over to the rest of the team, prompting a celebration on their home floor.
After a few team photos, Dotson was at a loss for words.
“It’s exciting,” Dotson said. “I’m kind of speechless right now.”
After falling behind 5-2 early , the Pirates quickly turned it on, going on a 23-11 run to take the first set. The second set was closer, as the two teams were tied at 19 at one point, but Adna again pulled away to take a 2-0 lead.
The Ducks had a hard time sustaining a rally or getting into any sort of rhythm, as Danika Hallom, Karsyn Freeman, and Kendall Humphrey would quickly bury any ball near the net, just as they’ve done over the course of the season.
While the Ducks rallied to take the third set, the Pirates quickly corrected themselves to seal the deal.
“They communicated themselves with how to fix things on the court,” Dotson said. “If somebody was getting blocked, little teeny switches here and there, they talk about that stuff. The communication was good between the team as far as what they needed to do and change.”
Dotson said that while the Pirates didn’t play their best throughout the entire game, she still saw several positives, a good sign heading into the state tournament.
“We didn’t play our best, and we were still able to do some good things,” Dotson said. “When they play good, we’re really good. And when we aren’t as good, we can still be effective. That’s nice to see.”
Humphrey led the way offensively with 22 kills, while Hallom and Freeman combined for 23. Guard and Schierman combined for 39 assists.
Freeman led the team with 10 digs, though Humphrey was one back with 9 and Hallom had 8. Freeman also had a team-high three aces, while Schierman and Guard had two each.
The Pirates will find out their seed and first-round matchup at state on Sunday. They’ll head to Yakima on Tuesday and begin play in the tournament on Wednesday.
