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YAKIMA — The Toledo Riverhawks are learning on the fly what the Yakima experience is all about.
The nerves. The bright lights. The raucous crowds. The early mornings and the late nights.
Only a mentally tough team can quickly rebound from a loss that halted their dreams of a Cinderella run and prepare for another opponent, practically on a whim.
Toledo hasn’t been on this stage in 22 years, but the Riverhawks are handling it like a team beyond their years.
Four hours after losing to Tonasket in the first round, the 14th-seeded Riverhawks knocked out La Conner in sweeping fashion in the 2B State Tournament consolation quarterfinals Wednesday afternoon 25-20, 25-21, 25-22.
La Conner, once a program that had won four straight state championships from 2019 to 2022, has now left three straight state tournaments without a win, including three consecutive sweeps in loser-out matches.
The youthful Riverhawks hope to be in that position someday, but for now, they’re living to see another day.
“We definitely had to take a whole rest. It’s a big arena, and it’s definitely a huge change from what we’ve been playing and we’re not seeing the same teams,” star hitter Ellie Fallon said. “We can’t just watch film how we usually do. It’s a big adjustment. The first game, we were a roller coaster of emotions. This time, we really took a break and had a big chat about what we needed to do to get to day two.”
Toledo coach Kelli Larson has also described her team as one prone to riding a roller coaster of emotions, but the Riverhawks conquered that coaster against La Conner. They fell behind early in the first set against the Braves, and ultimately Fallon and Abby Umbriaco fueled a roaring comeback with an 8-1 run to take a lead they wouldn't surrender.
Following the Tonasket game, Larson said she wanted the Riverhawks to play with more aggression on defense. Her team emphatically delivered, leaving few gaps for the Braves to expose and showing improved effort in moving their feet for a stray ball. Fallon and Taysia Miller were a big part of a solid outing in a 25-21 second set.
“Ellie always has awesome hits. She can place that ball so well and see the court so well. She is our most dominant hitter,” Larson said. “Ellie and Taysia both do a fabulous job. They really do a good job of communicating, encouraging and talking to the team.”
The third set was not quite a roller coaster but more of a teeter totter, with both teams trading leads. Just when it looked like one team was bound to pull away, the other fought back. Toledo broke off a 6-1 run to snap a 17-17 tie before La Conner scored four straight to force a timeout. The Riverhawks had no interest in allowing the Braves to extend the game, and they closed it out with the final two tallies for the sweep.
“I think they did a very good job of seeing where the holes in their defense were and then capitalizing on them,” Larson said. “And then [La Conner’s] most dominant hitter was their middle, and I thought we did a very good job defending her.”
Toledo’s victory marked the first win in the state tournament for the program since 1981. For the hungry Riverhawks, it came later in the day than they would’ve liked, but their hopes for a trophy are still alive.
“It means the world,” Fallon said of snapping the 44-year winless state streak. “It means the world to our community. It means the world to every single one of the girls. Everyone is so proud.”
Toledo (18-6) will face 15th-seeded River View bright and early Thursday morning at 8 a.m., with the winner moving on to the seventh/eighth match and securing a trophy. The loser goes home empty handed.
“It’s gonna take a lot of commitment,” Fallon said. “It’s gonna take a lot of battle scars.”
