LAUREL – It was never a sure thing until the final point, but Lynden Christian earned its redemption.
The Lyncs defeated Meridian in five sets (25-13, 23-25, 22-25, 25-17, 15-6) to capture the 1A District 1 championship after being swept by the Trojans in the title match a year ago.
Last season, LC had to battle through one more game in the consolation final to advance to the 1A District 1-2 crossover. This year they get to relax a little and take three days off.
“The games in the past don’t define anything,” said LC senior outside hitter Reganne Arnold, who was a key piece to last year’s state championship runner-up team. “In the beginning of the season, we played them, and we did beat them, but we knew that they were going to come back stronger.”
To power through five sets — including a stretch of dropping two straight — and still come out with a win shows the grit of this Lyncs team, said LC coach Kristy VanEgdom.
“I think it shows the mental toughness,” VanEgdom said. “Anytime that you have to go into game five against a great team — to be able to make your serves, pass the ball, swing where you’re supposed to swing and not worry about messing up, I think it shows a lot of grit, a lot of integrity for the girls and a lot of discipline.”
LC dominated the first set. After rushing out to an 8-1 lead the Lyncs gave up some slack, but recovered well. Meridian never came within seven points the remainder of the frame, and LC felt confident going into set two.
Meridian, however, had other plans. The Trojans posted the first nine points of the set and looked to be in full command of the game. Putting the evenly matched nature of the two teams on full display, LC one-upped Meridian’s previous run by rattling off 13 straight points of its own to take a 16-12 lead.
Even that wouldn’t decide it, as Meridian woke up and managed to retake the lead at 21-20. The Trojans carried that lead to a 25-23 set victory that was finished off by a laser beam from junior outside hitter Emry Claeys.
The third set was close, but Meridian seemed to always keep a slight edge over the Lyncs. Leading 21-20 late, the Trojans rode their momentum into a 25-22 victory that was once again finished off by a Claeys kill. The script had flipped, and Meridian was the beneficiary.
Set four was tight early, but LC eventually found their groove to make a comeback. After four lead changes at the midway point of the frame, the Lyncs scored five straight to take a 13-12 advantage. They never relinquished the lead and LC’s senior middle blocker Avery Lenssen killed her second game point of the contest to force a tiebreaker set.
“We had more errors than they did, and we had to win the passing versus serving game,” VanEgdom said. “They came out with some really strong serves, and we had to be able to pass it. They turned it around and did a great job responding.”
The Lyncs made it clear they intended to leave with a trophy as the fifth set commenced. LC scored to break a 3-3 tie early and never looked back, scoring 12 of the final 15 points of the match. Lenssen finished it off for the Lyncs once again, giving her all three set-winning points for her team.
“I honestly couldn’t do it without my passers or setters,” Lenssen said. “I’ve had a rough year, so it was nice to be back.”
Lenssen had a team-high 16 kills to go along with two digs and a block. Arnold totaled 17 digs, 15 kills and two aces. Senior libero Sofia Rader tallied 34 digs and four aces, as senior defensive specialist Sydney Faber finished with 20 digs and an ace.
For Meridian, Claeys piled up a game-high 17 kills coupled with eight digs and an ace. Senior outside hitter Avery Neal totaled 19 digs, nine kills and four aces. Senior outside hitter Jessica Pounder tallied seven kills and an ace as senior setter Hayden Claeys finished with 33 assists, five kills and four digs.
The Trojans will face Nooksack Valley on Nov. 3 in the consolation final in a battle for the final crossover spot.
“We know each other very well, we know what everyone’s strengths are, and weaknesses,” Meridian coach Shannon Claeys said on NV. “I think it’s just who’s going to show up and play the best that night … we’re excited for it. We’re ready for it.”
LC will go straight to the 1A District 1-2 crossover and will await their opponent which will be decided in the coming days.
Other tournament scores:
1A District 1 tournament, consolation semifinals: Nooksack Valley 3, Blaine 0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-19)
NV advanced to the consolation finals versus Meridian with a sweep of Blaine to keep its season alive. The Pioneers will have one more shot to advance to the 1A District 1-2 crossover in the Nov. 3 game against the Trojans.
The Pioneers’ junior outside hitter Lainey Kimball posted 19 kills, nine digs and four aces. Junior setter Devin Coppinger totaled 28 assists, nine digs, four aces and three kills. Senior outside hitter Hallie Kamphouse finished with six kills, six digs, four aces and three assists.
“It feels really good,” said NV coach Katie Emmons on keeping their season alive. “We have things we want to work on in practice, so we’re not done. The girls did a really good job of responding [to the LC loss].”
Blaine coach Jacquie Tesarik said she was proud of how far the team has come, despite their season being cut short in districts.
“[There was] a lot of growth this season,” Tesarik said. “Mixing leaders that are seniors with younger girls, and the younger girls seeing them being good role models and examples, that’s the growth that we’ve seen.”
Tesarik was proud of middle blockers Teya Zaddack and Kaitlyn Harrington who were strong forces at the net all season and will both be back next season. She also gave kudos to senior setter Gillian Rea for operating the offense consistently.
1A District 1 tournament, semifinals: Meridian 3, Nooksack Valley 1 (19-25, 25-16, 25-23, 25-22)
Meridian defeated NV in four sets to begin the tournament. After dropping the first, the Trojans bounced back and won the final three.
Emry Claeys finished with 23 kills, 10 digs and three aces. Hayden Claeys tallied 31 assists, five digs and four kills. Neal totaled 24 digs, seven kills and six aces.
For NV, Kimball and Kamphouse each totaled 17 digs, 12 kills and an ace. Coppinger finished with 34 assists, nine digs, four aces and three kills.
1A District 1 tournament, semifinals: Lynden Christian 3, Blaine 1
