YAKIMA — Onalaska’s final day in Yakima started with a heartbreaker.
The Loggers lost a hard-fought, five-set battle against No. 6 Tonasket in a 2B State Semifinal, and they didn’t have long to mentally reset before their matchup against No. 5 Reardan in the 3rd/4th game.
“All I said to them was, we have a choice to make,” Onalaska coach Susan Gordon said. “Are we gonna go out winners? Or are we gonna pout, cry, and give up because we didn’t get what we wanted? This is a life lesson. What are we gonna do? Are we gonna give up, or are we gonna fight and show who we are?”
The Loggers responded accordingly, sweeping Reardan 25-11, 25-19, 26-24 to finish third in the state tournament.
It’s Onalaska’s first state trophy since 2004, when the Loggers took third in the 1A State Tournament, and it's the third third time in school history that they’ve finished in the top three at the state tournament (according to the WIAA’s State Tournament Program).
“They did exactly what they needed to do,” Gordon said.
In the morning semifinal, Onalaska fell behind 2-1 before forcing a fifth. In that fifth set, Tonasket went on a 10-2 run to pull away, and they eventually won 15-7.
The scheduled break was already brief, but it was expedited when the Loggers found out they had to rush back to the hotel to check out. They also had to squeeze in a quick lunch before rushing back to the SunDome.
In an odd way, both Gordon and Emalie Jacoby said it helped the Loggers flush the loss, as they didn’t really have time to dwell on it.
“It turned our minds off (the loss),” Jacoby said. “After that, we were just able to go into that game with a fresh mindset.”
In the win over Reardan, the Loggers breezed to a win in the first set, handled business in the second, and scored the final four points of the third to win 26-24 and seal the sweep.
Jacoby tallied 19 kills, 15 digs, and three aces, Faith Hammer tallied five kills, five blocks, and three aces, and Braelyn Babb collected 20 assists.
Sommer Hammer added four aces and three kills, Ellie Jacoby finished with 15 digs, Karsyn Koenig added five blocks, and Capri McGraw added 10 digs of her own.
“We wanted to go to the championship game, but you don’t always get what you want,” Sommer Hammer said. “I would say I’m satisfied and happy with how far we went.”
It was the final game for Sommer Hammer, Emalie Jacoby, and Babb, Onalaska’s three seniors.
As the three took photos with the trophy, their teammates, and friends and family postgame, Gordon couldn’t help but think it was a fitting conclusion to their high school career, one that saw them help turn around a program that went winless the season before their freshman year.
When asked about her seniors, Gordon took a long pause and began to tear up.
“It’s just weird to think that the seniors aren’t (going to be) here,” Gordon said. “They have put so much pressure on themselves to be what this team is this year. All three of them, in so many different ways, are incredibly special people to me.
“Watching (Emalie) play and grow, the athleticism and the abilities she has, it’s amazing,” Gordon continued. “What she has become is amazing. Sommer is my person. She just warms me … She’s just that person that is always there for me. She’s a very special person in my life.”
Gordon’s smile widened even more when talking about Babb, as she specifically recalled a running joke within the team that includes “Shut up Denise” (Babb’s middle name) T-shirts, something Gordon would often endearingly say to Babb throughout the year.
Babb herself wore a similar shirt that simply said “I’m Denise.”
“It’s just their leadership and personality and will to win,” Gordon said. “Just everything they’ve brought to this program. At the same time that I am sad to see them go, I’m excited to see what’s gonna happen in the next part of their lives.”
The camaraderie amongst the seniors carried over into the rest of the team, and it led to some bittersweet tears after the final point in Yakima.
“If any of us choose to go on (and play) in college, I feel like I’m never gonna be able to love my teammates as much as I will love them and my coaches,” Sommer Hammer said. “I literally don’t think it’s possible.”
“There was nothing that ever got into the way of the chemistry of this team,” Gordon added. “They held it together no matter what happened.”
The Loggers finish their season 19-2 overall. Everyone outside of the three seniors is expected back, including first-team all-C2BL honoree Faith Hammer and libero Ellie Jacoby, an eighth-grader that Gordon felt deserved to be an all-league honoree as well.
In the meantime, though, it was all smiles as the Loggers left the SunDome for the final time this fall.
“I’d say we’re satisfied,” Sommer Hammer said. “And we’re gonna go home and celebrate.”
