Ocosta bested eight other teams at the Raymond Tournament and used a 2-0 victory over Ilwaco on Saturday to lay claim to the tournament title.
Ocosta, Raymond, Willapa Valley, North Beach and South Bend were all represented at the all-day tournament that featured one-set round robin matches followed by a single-elimination tournament to determine a champion.
Raymond also came away with some hardware as the Seagulls defeated Pe Ell 2-0 in the consolation bracket finale.
Ocosta Wildcats
The Wildcats went the entire day without dropping a set by going 8-0 in round-robin play and winning both elimination games 2-0.
Emily Snider paced the offense with 55 assists in 12 sets played on Saturday.
Ocosta head coach Barbara Rasmus said solid passing from everyone on the floor helped put Snider in a position to pick up assists.
“They were passing well which gives our setter a chance to spread out our offense,” she said. “It was good because they can’t really figure out where (Snider) was going with the ball. She has more than just one weapon, she has two or three people she can go to.”
Layne Martin was a frequent target of Snider’s passes as she picked up 23 kills to lead her team on Saturday.
Lillian Barnum and Kiana Morris also chipped in with 20 kills apiece, with Barnum also adding 11 aces.
The tournament falls before most teams in the Pacific 2B start their league schedules on Tuesday. With the most important part of the schedule fast approaching, Rasmus said seeing other league opponents is a valuable learning experience.
“It was wonderful for us to play Ilwaco and see what they have before we play them in league,” she said. “We were blind about Ilwaco and Pe Ell is in our league also so it was good to play our league teams today.”
Raymond Seagulls
Host Raymond for the consolation trophy as they the Seagulls fought their way through the consolation bracket.
The Seagulls finished fifth out of nine teams heading into the elimination matches after going 5-3 in the round-robin matches.
The Gulls experienced ups and downs early in the day and hit their stride in the elimination matches with straight set 2-0 victories over South Bend and Pe Ell.
“It was kind of a roller coaster day today,” Raymond head coach Bob Swogger said. “We had great games and then we let off on some of those teams. Once we figure out how to be consistent and work through the emotional part of things we’ll be much better.”
Destiny Souvannavanh’s service game gave Raymond a lift when it needed it. The senior outside hitter had five straight aces in the first set of the consolation championship match against Pe Ell to help her team pull ahead and stay ahead.
Swogger said his team is in a good place heading into its first league match against Pe Ell on Thursday at 7 p.m. after suffering three straight losses last week.
“We had a rough week the week before, so we changed some things and it’s got us feeling a little more competitive,” he said.
Willapa Valley Vikings
The Vikings were strong in round-robin play but couldn’t keep the momentum going when they ran into Ilwaco who beat them 2-0 in an elimination match.
The Vikings were 6-2 and came into the championship bracket with the second seed, the only losses being to Ocosta and Ilwaco.
Ilwaco defeated the Vikings 2-0 despite a strong effort from Britney Patrick, who had eight kills against the Fishermen.
Willapa Valley heads into league play with a road match against Life Christian Academy on Thursday at 6 p.m.
North Beach Hyaks
The Hyaks had trouble communicating on defense in a 2-1 loss to Pe Ell in the third round of the consolation bracket, ending North Beach’s tournament run.
North Beach won the first set 25-18, but couldn’t hold the momentum as Pe Ell won the second set 26-24.
The Hyaks held an 11-8 lead at one point, but allowed the Trojans back into the match by allowing five straight points to give the Trojans a 13-11 lead.
North Beach entered the consolation bracket as the sixth seed after gong 3-5 in round-robin play.
South Bend Indians
The Indians fell one match short of the consolation championship and had their tournament ended with a straight set loss to Raymond on Saturday.
South Bend struggled in the round robin and went winless with an 0-8 record to start the day. The Indians then faced Tacoma Baptist in the consolation bracket play-in game where the Indians pulled out the 2-1 victory.
Brittney Jones was relied on heavily for her offense as the outside hitter, leading South Bend with seven kills against Tacoma Baptist.
The Indians will start league play against Ocosta at 7 p.m. on the road on Thursday.
