Oakesdale continues 1B state (WIAA) volleyball dominance, while Manson breaks through for 2B crown
YAKIMA, Wash. – One volleyball program continued its dominance Thursday night in the Yakima Valley SunDome, while another signaled that a championship run in another classification might be in the offing.
Top-seeded Oakesdale swept past No. 2 Neah Bay to keep the Class 1B crown for the third straight year and seventh time in the last eight years. That followed second-seeded Manson handling No. 5 Lind-Ritzville/Sprague in a three-set 2B final for its first championship.
The WIAA’s big volleyball week in the Dome continues Friday when the 2A and 1A tournaments begin with title matches Saturday night.
Manson entered the tournament 20-0 with a victory over three-time 1A champ Chelan, which is the top seed this week. Still, the Trojans were not seeded No. 1.
“We felt that was very off and we should be the one (seed),” Trojans junior Stella Petersen said following a 25-15, 25-15, 25-21 victory against the Broncos.
And while Adna didn’t live up to the top billing and fell in the quarterfinals, Manson (24-0) looked the part, dropping just one set in winning the championship after back-to-back third-place finishes following semifinal losses to eventual champion La Conner.
“We kept saying that there was a time when the Colfaxes and La Conners won their first championship and we wanted to do that,” Trojans coach Hayli Thompson said. “Our school has never won a state championship in any sport, so we were pretty excited to start that. Our program plans to keep that going.”
Photo by Lane Mathews
With Central Washington 2B player-of-the-year Petersen, fellow front-line force Camille Hutton and star libero Genesis Torres all 11-graders, that seems a safe bet.
Oakesdale championships have become routine. Thursday’s title was the 13th for the school, the first six coming as Tekoa-Oakesdale.
“It feels good every time, I can’t lie about that,” Oakesdale coach McKinzie Turner said. “We’ve been hear a few times and this is their first time in the state championship and they deserved to be here. Those were some of the longest rallies I’ve seen at the 1B level.
"When it came down to it out our experience kicked into high gear and we were able to finish.”
The Red Devils hadn’t finished higher than seventh before Thursday, and won their first 22 matches – including a semifinal victory against 2022 runner-up Mossyrock.
Oakesdale, though, proved too tall of an order and the Nighthawks (24-0) wore down Neah Bay for a 25-14, 25-18, 25-13 victory.
As usual, Oakesdale’s attack was led by 5-foot-10 senior Payton Davis, who has signed to play at Central Washington. The versatile all-stater provided plenty of punch for the Nighthawks.
“I’ve had the privilege of coaching her for five years and it’s been awesome,” More than her volleyball skills, she’s an amazing kid, she’s an amazing leader – she has a great future ahead of her.”
Photo by Lane Mathews
(All photos by Lane Mathews)
