Oakesdale most successful county team at Linda Sheridan tournament

OAKESDALE — The Oakesdale Nighthawks, Colfax Bulldogs, and St. John-Endicott-LaCrosse (SJEL) Eagles all took part in the Linda Sheridan Volleyball tournament in Spokane over the weekend.

The tournament was played in Spokane across two days, with four high schools hosting games in the area.

Teams each played one of their pool play games on Friday, Sept. 29, to get a head start on a long day of games Saturday, Sept. 30.

For Whitman County, the Oakesdale Nighthawks were crowned as the silver bracket consolation champions, and finished second in their pool to lead Whitman County teams.

For Colfax, they played one game Friday, Sept. 29, against Ridgeline JV. They would win the match in straight sets, 25-14, 25-15.

On Saturday, Sept. 30, the Bulldogs played seven total sets against four opponents.

The first match up of the day was against Orting. The Bulldogs took out Orting in straight sets, 25-10, 25-18.

The next game for the Bulldogs was against Bonners Ferry. Colfax would also win the game in straight sets, 25-9, 25-14.

The third game of the day for Colfax saw them defeated by Gonzaga Prep, 25-19, 25-18, putting the Bulldogs in a loser-out game.

Gonzaga Prep is currently second in the state in the 4A RPI rankings. The Bulldogs fought hard, and had nothing to hang their heads about in the game.

In their final game, they were defeated by Richland 25-18.

For the tournament, Ava Swan led the way offensively. She had 24 total kills, four aces, and added 28 digs. She was also accurate on 97% of her serves in the tournament.

Brenna Gilchrist had seven kills, 18 digs and two blocks for Colfax.

Hailey Demler had 18 kills, 20 digs, and was accurate on 100% of her serves.

Setter Lauryn York had 58 assists, 21 digs, and eight serving aces in the tournament.

For the Eagles, they used the tournament as a learning experience for their new and younger players, while their seniors helped lead the charge in the tournament.

Senior Kaitlyn Hough finished the tournament with 18 kills and 23 digs. Senior setter Julia Guske had 19 assists, 11 aces and 18 digs.

Emery Molina finished with 17 kills and 18 digs, and Kenzie Stanley had 11 blocks in the tournament for the Eagles.

For the Oakesdale Nighthawks, they played 12 sets across six matches in the tournament.

They placed second in their pool, and would eventually go on to win the silver bracket consolation championship game.

Their first game was against Ridgeline, where the Nighthawks lost in three sets, 25-11, 25-16, 25-18.

In this game, Payton Davis had 11 kills, and Samantha Holling had 15 assists.

Their next game was against Eastmont, where the Nighthawks went on to win the game in straight sets, 25-16, 25-21, 26-24.

Davis had three aces and 1 digs in the game. Holling would add 27 assists, and Brieyn Henley had 15 kills to lead the Nighthawks.

The Nighthawks would lose their next game against Tahoma in three sets, 25-19, 23-25, 13-15.

Davis had 12 kills and 10 digs, and Holling added 17 assists.

Against Glacier Peak, Oakesdale won the game after taking the set 25-18.

Davis had seven kills and Holling had 12 assists.

Their next match up was against Ridgeline JV, where the Nighthawks again took the set victory, 25-18.

Lucy Hockett had six digs for the Nighthawks, and Davis had seven kills.

In the silver bracket consolation championship match, the Nighthawks defeated the Pullman Greyhounds, 25-19.

Davis had six kills, three digs and a block. Holling had 10 assists, and Hockett had three digs for Oakesdale.