Redside netters secure sixth-place state honors

“These girls mean a lot to me,” Barton said. “I have been with them for four years, and when you spend that much time with people, you get close.”

This past Saturday in Redmond, the Lady Redsides defeated McKenzie and then ended up losing in four sets to No. 1-seeded North Douglas to pick up sixth-place honors at the OSAA 1A State Championship held at Ridgeview High School.

SWC opened some eyes in its state-opener against No. 2-seeded Country Christian, a four-set loss, but the Redsides were the only team to take a set win against the eventual state champion Cougars.

In Saturday’s consolation match against McKenzie, SWC converted on 67 of 74 serves with six aces, and hit on 82 of 94 swings for 33 kills in a 25-15, 25-21, 25-19 three-set sweep.

Jada Myers tallied 11 kills on 25 of 28 swings, and had three blocks and an ace to lead the Redsides.

Ana Popchock was good for seven kills on 15 of 18 attempts, and was 5 of 6 on serves with an ace.

Jacqueline Noland had five kills on a perfect 10 of 10 swings, she had an ace to go with 9 of 10 serves and tallied two blocks, Allie Noland had four kills on 13 of 15 kill shots, added an ace of 20 of 22 serves, and Madisen Davis logged four kills on 11 of 13, and went for an ace on 14 of 15 serves.

That victory over McKenzie gave SWC a shot at some hardware, either fourth or sixth place, heading into their consolation final versus No. 1-seeded North Douglas.

The Lady Redsides grabbed an early edge after a 25-16 first-set win, but North Douglas regained its momentum with victories of 25-20, 25-19, 25-21 in the final three sets.

Myers, who was named to the second-team all-tournament team, paced the net attack with 32 of 33 swings for 15 kills, four of those coming in the first set, and she converted 11 of 13 serves for three aces, and added five blocks.

Allie Noland, playing in her final varsity match, notched 12 kills, went 14 of 16 on serves and tallied two blocks, Jacqueline Noland went for six kills on 16 of 17, and she was 18 for 18 on serves with four aces, and Kyrsten Sprouse chipped in a 16 of 17 effort on swings with six kills, and had an ace on 10 of 11 serves.

Popchock, another senior, went 9 for 11 on swings with two kills, had a 7 of 9 rate on serves and had a block.

In her final two varsity matches, Emily Ellis, a senior, went 10 of 12 on serves with an ace.

“Against McKenzie, we jumped on them early and were able to stay aggressive throughout the whole match,” Barton said. “We started well against North Douglas, but just couldn’t finish.”

Looking back at what transpired over three state matches, Barton’s best memory is the 32-30 second-set win over Country Christian on Friday.

All season, Country Christian lost 16 sets for the year, seven in non-tournament matches, and only one in the final five postseason contests.

“We had a solid tournament,” Barton added. “We battled hard with Country and were the only team to win a set with them. The 32-30 set with them was a classic and showed the true heart of the group.”

Next season, the Lady Redsides will have a roster of four seniors, three juniors and a sophomore, to help replace the loss of seniors, Popchock, Ellis and Allie Noland.

Popchock and Noland were key players that helped the program’s recent turnaround, as they were part of teams that ended up with a 65-42 record over the past four campaigns.

Ellis, new to the roster, played a big role down the final stretch of the season.

“We will miss the seniors tremendously, with their athletic ability, intelligence, leadership and heart,” Barton said. “However, there are a lot of quality volleyball players remaining, and the future of SWC volleyball is very bright.”