RIDGEFIELD — After a weekend in volleyball paradise, it was back to reality for Ridgefield.
But it’s a reality Ridgefield doesn’t mind. After beating Hockinson on Tuesday, the Spudders remained atop the 2A Greater St. Helens League.
The Spudders started fast, had a second-set hiccup, then finished strong in a 3-1 home win. The set scores were 25-7, 18-25, 25-16, 25-16.
Ridgefield (7-1, 6-0 2A GSHL) is halfway through its league season. But the Spudders took a somewhat large side trip last weekend.
Ridgefield traveled to Phoenix, Ariz., to compete with 80 other high school teams in the Nike Tournament of Champions. The Spudders finished 4-3 in an event where only teams that win 70 percent of their matches the previous year are invited.
Coach Sabrina Dobbs said the trip came at an important time. With just one senior, Ridgefield and its seven juniors are crafting those bonds that carry a team through a season.
“It was a good trip for them to start becoming a team,” Dobbs said. “They actually got to know each other as people and put their cell phones down.”
Ridgefield played seven matches over two days against teams of similar talent.
“It was mostly volleyball, but at night we came together and hung out,” junior outside hitter Sarena Bartley said. “We went to In-N-Out. We did team dinners and team lunches. We had adjoining rooms so we were all able to hang out a lot.”
With a goal of winning a league title and making a run in the 2A state tournament, Ridgefield hopes the Arizona trip will give it a midseason boost.
“You usually don’t do stuff like that with your high school team,” said junior outside hitter Madi Harter. “It’s more what you do with your club. We were nervous because we knew there would be a lot of good teams there. But we actually competed really well.”
Tuesday, Ridgefield scored 14 of the last 15 points of the first set to win 25-7.
But Hockinson (5-2, 4-2) rebounded in the second set. The Hawks jumped to an 11-3 lead, then held on to win 25-18.
Ridgefield pulled away in the third set, which was tied at 11 before the Spudders went on an 11-1 run en route to a 25-16 win.
The Spudders won the fourth set 25-16 in similar fashion, breaking a 9-9 deadlock.
Ridgefield’s defense at the net and on the back line helped hold Hockinson star Taylor Erickson to eight kills after she had 29 kills in two matches last week. Maddy Campbell had 11 digs while Bella Gama had 11 digs and 41 assists.
Bartley, Ridgefield’s 6-foot-3 outside hitter, had a game-high 18 kills. Harter added 10 kills while Anika Nicoll had eight kills and five aces.
Ridgefield 3, Hockinson 1
25-7, 18-25, 25-16, 25-16
RIDGEFIELD
Highlights – Maddy Campbell 1 kills, 4 aces, 11 digs; Olivia Zimmerly 1 ace, 2 digs; Anika Nicoll 8 kills, 1 block, 5 aces, 3 digs; Hailee Taylor 2 kills, 2 blocksl; Bella Gama 3 kills, 1 block, 4 aces, 11 digs, 41 assists; Kenadi McCaskill 1 ace, 3 digs; Emily Persons 2 kills, 2 blocks; Madi Harter 10 kills, 3 digs; Sarena Bartley 18 kills, 1 block, 3 aces, 7 digs/
HOCKINSON
Highlights – Abby Kondel 2 aces, 6 kills, 12 assists; Abby Melo 9 kills; Elle Tilken 5 kills, 4 blocks, 9 digs; Taylor Erickson 3 aces, 8 kills; Mallory Hylton 12 assists.
JV – Ridgefield 2-0. C – Ridgefield 2-0.
