Blackhawks defeat Prosser for a stab at championship
CHENEY — The post-season Cinderella story of the Lady Blackhawks volleyball team continued after they defeated Prosser three sets to one, on Saturday, Nov. 9, to advance to the state 2A championships.
Head coach Heather Zorrozua kept her team focused on their game going into the playoff match with Prosser.
“We know, when we play our game, we can compete with anyone,” she said.
The Blackhawks proved it, taking out the Mustangs 25-17, 20-25, 25-16 and 25-17, despite an early match injury to the team’s libero.
“We had an early injury, Emily Ek, at the end of set one which seemed to carry over into set two,” Zorrozua said in an email. “The girls proved to rally together and get back on track in set three and four. It was truly a team effort and the girls showed focus and grit.”
Assistant coach April Stark called the match point “awesome.”
“Avery Stark served a tough ball that Prosser passed directly back to our side of the net, only to get slammed straight down on their side for a kill by our middle blocker, Abby Witt,” she said. “It was an exciting match from start to end.”
Witt recorded a total of 13 kills and three blocks in the match; Sara Graham had 38 assists. Avery Stark and Shelby Draper had 15 digs each, while Ek and Hope Schneider had three aces apiece.
The Lady Blackhawks travel to Central Washington University in Ellensburg on Friday, Nov. 15 to face 2A Northwest League champion Burlington-Edison at 9:45 a.m.
The Tigers — 12-1 in league play and 15-4-1 overall — beat the Lyndon Lions three sets to two on Saturday to advance to face the Blackhawks.
At 7-5 and third seed in the Great Northern League, Cheney went on to beat No. 2 East Valley before losing to top-seeded Pullman before beating the 9-3 Prosser Mustangs.
Zorrozua said the team would continue with competitive practices this week ahead of the weekend and, “really enjoy the experiences that is state.”
“This group truly deserves to be here and I’m happy to stand with them!” she said.
Lee Hughes can be reached at lee@cheneyfreepress.com.
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