Ridgefield’s road to a potential second consecutive 2A state title will head east instead of north.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association announced on Monday a late venue change for the 2A state volleyball tournament.
The tournament, which runs Nov. 15-16, will be at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. It had previously been scheduled for Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, where the tournament has been held since 2015.
The WIAA said a scheduling conflict at Saint Martins was to blame for the late change.
“The move to CWU was selected in an attempt to limit the amount of missed class time for student-participants playing in the State Championships and provide the best opportunity for parents and family to attend outside of the traditional work week,” the WIAA said in a statement.
Some changes to the tournament schedule are necessary because only two courts are available at CWU instead of three at Saint Martin’s. The first matches will start at 8 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. The last matches on Nov. 15 are also schedule to begin at 8:15 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. last year.
On Nov. 16, the championship match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. last year.
The 2A state tournament has been a busy event for Clark County teams in recent years. Last year, Ridgefield won the state title, Columbia River placed fourth and Woodland finished sixth.
Ridgefield is ranked No. 1 in the most recent statewide 2A coaches poll. Five 2A Greater St. Helens League teams are alive for three state berths to be awarded at the 2A district tournament, which is Nov. 7 and 9 at Black Hills High in Tumwater.
