As predicted in last week’s Sounder, the Vikings finished third in the Bi-District Tournament on Saturday.  The team is one of 16 teams in the state to go on to compete in the 2B Washington State Championship Tournament in Yakima, on Friday and Saturday.  This is the first time in seven years that Orcas Volleyball has earned the right to play at state.

The team began play with 3-2 set victory over Tacoma Baptist.  A sign of the strength of this team is the fact that they have won every 5 set match they have played this season.

After a three-hour break the Vikings took on perennial state powerhouse La Conner, playing well but losing the match 0-3.

Next up was Shoreline Christian in a match that would determine who would be going on to State and whose season would be over.  The Crusaders are a team that the Vikings know well and have great respect for.  The Vikings knew they were going to be without Kathryn Tidwell, their leading scorer and captain.  Yet each Orcas player stepped up to fill the void and refused to give in to a scrappy Crusader team.  Mary Wilson was a stand-out in the middle, scoring repeatedly on sets from Aliviah Garcia.  The Orcas blockers, including Wilson, Freeda Crow, Soren Sweet, and Jenna Tully kept the opponents out of rhythm, turning back their attempts to score.  And as has been the team’s hallmark this year, the defense, led by Tika Zbornik, Mykal Keyes, and Liana Bense dug the Crusaders’ best shots, allowing the Viking’s offense to go for the kill.  In an emotional match, Orcas prevailed 3-1, and reached its goal of a trip to state.

All that remained was a match with Darrington to decide third and fourth places. Both teams were going to state, and both teams were tired and drained. In spite of having lost to the Loggers in every meeting over the last few years, the Vikings managed to out hustle their rivals, and came away with a win, just after 8 p.m.  The Vikings will now travel to the SunDome, representing Orcas Island as one of the top teams in the state.