March 18, 2024
The Liberty Lake Splash
PO Box 363
Liberty Lake, WA 99019
Phone: 509-242-7752
News Blog Business Community Opinion Sports
Search the News Archive Search the News Archive

Sports Notebook: CV claims school’s first state volleyball trophy
11/24/2014 4:10:47 PM

By Mike Vlahovich
Splash Contributor

Central Valley's unprecedented volleyball season played out in stages, a virtual climb up the ladder of success, if you will.

The initial rung was the Bears' first Greater Spokane League championship. 

The next rung was their first GSL district title. 

The third rung featured their first regional crown. 

And while they didn't make it all the way to the top, the final rung of upward mobility resulted in Central Valley's first-ever volleyball state trophy, eighth place with a 2-2 record.

And bad breaks bit CV in the first match of the tourney, so who knows how much higher they might have climbed?

CV lost its opening day encounter with Battle Ground in five games, decided in an agonizing 16-14 fifth set. The Bears fell behind 25-16, 25-13, then began to click. They rallied with 25-23 and 25-15 before dropping the tie-breaker.

There followed with a 25-15, 25-16, 22-25, 27-25 win over Snohomish and a 26-24, 25-22, 22-25, 25-17 triumph over Snohomish and Skyline to assure a top-eight finish. Gig Harbor beat them in four sets in the match for seventh and eighth.

Senior  Kazlyn Roullier, CV's power hitter, led the team in kills twice in the first three matches. Junior Keann White had 14 against Skyline. 

Fellow junior Jade Rockwood averaged more than 20 assists per match and had 11 digs against Battleground. Kara Nitteberg had an amazing 23 service aces against Battle Ground and had a team high 21 and 9 digs against Skyline and Snohomish. Sasha Montgomery, Roullier and Nitteberg will be seniors missed, but  the Bears also bring back several others who had major contributions at state, including White and the Rockwood sisters, Jade and Meghan.

CV finished the year 28-3. With two straight state trips under their belts, wouldn't a three-peat and second trophy be nice?

DEMARS STARS
Last spring, Briton Demars set the junior class record for 1,600 meters in track and field. This fall he almost became the school's second state champion.

Demars placed third in a time of 15 minutes, 24 seconds in the 4A state meet. His time was the eighth fastest among runners in all classifications.

The high finish wasn't enough, however, for the Bears to earn their third straight top-four finish and team trophy. They were a distant fifth this year, down from the title in 2012 and a third-place finish last year.

Just 21 seconds separated the other six CV runners, but their aggregate times averaged nearly 20 seconds per man slower than last year.

The race marked the end of a three-year saga for five runners. Sophomore Isaac Nicholls and freshman Gabe Romney lead the start of another.

CV's girls never had a complete team during the year, and that lack of training plus a bit faster field manifested itself in a sixth-place team finish a year after they placed fourth. One of the injured, Briegan Bester led the way with a time of 19:26.92. The Bears had nary a senior in the seven-team lineup.

LEARNING CURVE FOR GRIDDERS
Central Valley's (3-7) new spread offense accounted for three touchdowns or more in seven games, but the wins didn't come. A season-ending 35-23 loss to University, the first to them in 10 years, kept the Bears from a playoff to reach post-season.

Junior quarterback Tanner Sloan finished the year with 2,221 passing yards on 206-for-381 passing and 13 interceptions overall. He was second in the GSL. Tucker Stout had 47 catches for 548 yards and 7 touchdowns, P.J. Bowden had 21-584-6 and Rhett Foley was 44-437-5.

Central Valley had beaten Lewis and Clark 20-19 and Mead 30-14, but a tough 14-10 loss to Ferris and the Titans outcome were costly.

The Bears were extremely young and will have had a year's experience with the offense on which to build. 


Advertisement

Copyright © 2024 The Liberty Lake Splash | Print Page