A well-rounded offensive effort helped Lynden punch its ticket to the state tournament and secure its second straight 2A District 1 championship, 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 28-30, 25-20), over Burlington-Edison on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at Squalicum High School.
Lynden (19-1), playing in its fifth straight district championship game, had four players drive in double-digit kills, led by senior Haylee Koetje with 18.
Koetje also added 14 digs in a stellar performance for the four-year starter, and the Lions are now headed back to the 2A state tournament for the sixth consecutive season — an achievement they hope to ride to the program’s first-ever state title after finishing fifth a season ago as the No. 1 seed.
“It wasn’t easy. We had to earn every single point,” Lynden head coach Chris Elsner said. “It was a battle. Every point was a battle. There were no errors happening.”
Senior libero Mya VanderYacht also crossed the major milestone of 1,000 career digs after racking up a team-high 35 digs Wednesday.
Burlington-Edison (18-2) hung tough in the first set. Even as Lynden built sizable leads, the Tigers responded with timely runs to get back in the set.
Despite that, Lynden’s 5-1 run at the end of the first set was enough to close it out, 25-19, and Koetje punctuated the frame with an emphatic kill to take a 1-0 set lead.
The Tigers responded in the second set to the tune of a 4-1 lead early on. Lynden narrowed the gap with well-timed plays from Koetje and senior teammates Ashley Shumate and Grace Rice. A few ties gave way to a permanent Lynden lead after going up 11-10.
The Lions won the second set 25-19, and Koetje spiked in the set point once again on a ball that quickly rolled off the top of the net and dropped in.
Lynden looked poised for a sweep early in the third, commanding a 7-2 lead and forcing a Burlington-Edison timeout. Tigers head coach Tawnya Brewer’s pep talk worked, and Burlington-Edison emerged from its huddle and ripped off a 12-0 run.
Now trailing 14-7, Lynden whittled the lead back down to 14-11 and eventually tied the set at 18-18.
“We all just had a next ball mentality, staying calm and not hitting the panic button, and coming together as a team,” Koetje said. “We fought through everything, just like they did.”
The advantage then changed hands six times, including seven ties, as each team had a game-point opportunity on three different occasions. Burlington-Edison made good on its final try, and the Tigers won the set a whopping 30-28.
Following an 11-11 tie midway through the fourth set, Lynden looked determined to avoid a fifth. The Lions made enough plays to seal the win, and freshman Finley Parcher tipped in the match point for Lynden.
“I love her,” Koetje said of Parcher. “She’s so fun to play with, and I love seeing her get points.”
Shumate finished the game with 15 kills, 16 digs and three aces, while sophomore Rian Stephan had 14 kills and seven digs. Parcher stuffed the stat sheet in her first-ever district title game, notching 10 kills, seven digs, three blocks and two aces. Rice, the offensive facilitator, had 49 assists and 20 digs.
Lynden will now await its seed ahead of the 2A state tournament that runs from Nov. 10–11. Burlington-Edison must win one more game on Saturday, Nov. 4 to advance.
