HOCKINSON – Ridgefield, Woodland and Columbia River pulled no punches.
Washougal almost pulled the upset.
The 2A Greater St. Helens League had a strong evening as the 2A District 4 Volleyball Tournament began Thursday at Hockinson High. League champ Ridgefield looked every bit a state-title contender, sweeping Rochester to improve to 15-0.
Woodland, whose only two losses came to Ridgefield, also advanced to the semifinals by sweeping W.F. West.
Columbia River, the No. 3 seed from the GSHL, knocked off Black Hills, beating the No. 2 seed from the Evergreen Conference in four sets.
And Washougal, the GSHL’s No. 4 seed with a 6-8 league record, pushed Evergreen champ Tumwater to the limit. The Panthers won two of the first three sets before falling in the fifth-set tiebreaker 15-8.
Thursday’s first-round winners advanced to the semifinals on Saturday at Hockinson. Woodland will face Tumwater while Ridgefield will battle River. Both matches start at 11 a.m. with the winners clinching berths to the state tournament the following weekend in Lacey.
Undefeated and coming off a third-place finish last year, Ridgefield is a top contender for the state title. Thursday the Spudders wasted no time taking a step toward that goal, beating Rochester 25-9, 25-15, 25-11.
Delaney Nicoll had 16 kills. Emelia Stepaniuk had 14 digs and 4 aces.
“We know what we want to achieve,” said Nicoll. “We just want to play our best and play as hard as we can. We have so much potential.”
Despite having just one senior, Ridgefield returns several key players from last year’s team. The Spudders hope to lean on that state tournament experience in this year’s postseason.
“Last year we had a lot of younger girls,” senior middle blocker Kamryn Reynolds said. “I’m not going to lie, some people doubted us. I think it really set the tone for this year by showing that we’re capable of anything if we try hard.”
Ridgefield will face a test against Columbia River, which pushed the Spudders to five sets in the regular-season finale Oct. 25.
“That’s when we really saw ourselves play to our potential,” Chieftains middle blocker Alicia Wallingford said. “We really played for each other. The energy was insane.”
Thursday, Columbia River prevailed in four high-tension sets (25-19, 25-23, 22-25, 27-25). Freshman Rylie Reeves had a team-high 13 kills, sophomore Maddie Sheron added 12 kills and Wallingford had 10 kills.
“We’re so deep in all of our front row positions,” Wallingford said. “We’re able to be threats in both blocking and hitting. I feel that’s a really good base for us to set up our defense around.”
Woodland ended the first-set on an 8-1 run to win 25-20 and seize the momentum against W.F. West. From there the Beavers never let up, taking the next two sets 25-17 and 25-16.
When a point was scored, Woodland let it be known with loud cheers.
“We’ve been working on our communication,” outside hitter Olivia Anderson said. “The louder you are, the more intimidating it is. Plus, it also keeps us pumped up and excited.”
Taylor Foster led the way with 19 kills. Anderson added eight kills.
“I thought this game was a great way to gain momentum,” setter Emma Swett said. “This is a new season, the postseason. It doesn’t matter what we’ve done. We need to finish strong.”
