Defending champion reigns supreme again in Class B volleyball action

In the first set of the district final, Klickitat fell behind 4-0 before junior Jaecee Ramsay got hot from the outside with some timely kills.

Her attacking got the Vandals going as they outscored the Knights 30-8 the rest of the way.

"It was a great team effort," Vandals Coach Kirk Huwe said. "Once we got past that initial run of Sunnyside's we kept the momentum the rest of the match."

Ramsay finished the match with seven kills in 11 attacks, and served 8 of 8 with two aces.

Junior Jordan Graeme contributed to the victory with eight kills, five assists and two blocks. Senior Michelle Martell added three kills, two blocks and an ace.

In the ensuing consolation final, second-seeded Lyle, runnerup to Klickitat in the 2001 Greater Columbia B League season, swept Sunnyside Christian 15-11, 15-11 to secure the district's second berth to state.

In opening-round matches of the one-day, double-elimination tournament, Sunnyside Christian toppled Trout Lake 15-7, 15-10, and Riverside Christian beat LaSalle, 10-15, 15-4, 15-12, to move onto the semifinals against Lyle and Klickitat, respectively.

The third-seeded Knights gained the finals and dropped Lyle's Cougars into the losers bracket by scores of 15-5, 15-4.

In the other semifinal, the Vandals took care of the fourth-seeded Crusaders, 15-5, 15-3, to set up a Klickitat-SSC matchup in the title match.

Huwe singled out Graeme for helping Klickitat get off to a fast start in its tournament opener with Riverside.

"Jordan had a great game. She got us some easy points with her serve, and had a great night at the net," he noted.

Graeme went 12 for 12 from the service line and had two of her team's 10 aces. She also recorded six kills on nine attacks.

Martell contributed with four kills and two blocks, and junior Naomi Vitale served three aces, and had two kills and a pair of assists.

Huwe also praised the passing of senior Randi Steindorf and sophomore Kaeley Schultz. In addition, each girl served two aces.

While Klickitat was wrapping up a spot in the semifinals, Lyle, Trout Lake, LaSalle and Riverside were playing in the consolation bracket to remain in the hunt for the district's second state spot.

Lyle began its run by eliminating LaSalle 15-3, 15-11, while Riverside bumped off Trout Lake, 15-12, 16-14, in the most hotly contested match of the day.

The low-seed Mustangs stampeded to a 9-1 lead in the first set. But, following a Crusaders timeout, the match underwent a sea change.

"After the timeout, we couldn't hold of their charge," said Mustangs Coach Jeff Agar, adding, "It was the hardest fought game of the year for us, but they came out ahead in the end."

Trout Lake also had the lead late in the second set (14-13), and was serving for victory. But the Mustangs lost the serve when junior Marcaila Bryerton's offering nicked the top of the net.

"She's our leading server and I was completely confident we were going to game three with a good chance to win the match," Agar noted. "Another sixteenth of an inch higher and we would have gotten that chance."