Brave netters take long road back to Yakima

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Or, in the case of the La Conner High volleyball team, with a single set.

The Lady Braves executed countless of those sets to perfection in Raymond last week en route to a hard-fought Bi-District title and unblemished season mark.

La Conner puts that perfect record on the line — and its team bus back on the road — with a trip to the State 2B Tournament in Yakima.

The Lady Braves open State play Friday morning at the Sun Dome. La Conner has drawn Brewster in an 8 a.m. opening round match.

This after having made successive trips to southwest Washington for Bi-District showdowns with Napavine and Toutle Lake.

These Lady Braves, however, have embraced the role of road warriors.

“After a week of putting in about 1,200 miles,” notes La Conner head coach Suzanne Marble, who on Saturday will be inducted into the Washington State Coaches Association Hall of Fame, “the Yakima travel will be a breeze.”

It was a smooth ride back and forth between home and Raymond, but the Bi-District bracket was anything but a breeze.

La Conner on Wednesday drew previously top-ranked Napavine, who pushed the Lady Braves to five games in the semifinals.

La Conner prevailed 26-24, 20-25, 25-21, 27-29, 15-5 in a seesaw affair.

The 1-2 combo of Olivia Hedlund and Ashley Watkins ultimately helped the Lady Braves deliver a knockout punch in the late going.

Hedlund recorded 66 assists, many of those going to Watkins, one of three La Conner players to finish with double-digit kills.

“Olivia was our rock,” Marble said. “She played really smart and did a great job of spreading the offense around. She and Ashley had a good connection going later in the match.”

Lindsay Lowry, who delivered 11 kills, provided a huge boost in a reserve role for the Lady Braves.

“Lindsay was strong off the bench in sets four and five,” stressed Marble, “and her hitting gave us the spark we needed to finish the match.”

Hedlund, in addition to igniting the La Conner attack, filled the stat sheet with 16 digs, two kills, and three service aces among 26 flawless attempts.

Kamea Luna chipped in six kills, two aces, and three blocks for the victors.

Heather Henriksen was all over the court with 39 digs, 10 kills, and a perfect 21-of-21 night from behind the service stripe, two of those deliveries being aces.

Nicole Henriksen, who was 40-of-45 on serve receive, added 33 digs.

Matty Lagerwey contributed five kills.

The weekend return trip to Raymond saw La Conner polish off Toutle Lake in straight sets, winning the Bi-District crown via a 25-18, 25-23, 25-20 margin.

The Lady Braves, though having to rally from deficits in the final two sets, managed to put pressure on Toutle Lake from the get-go.

Hedlund again set the pace with 30 assists and a pair of service aces.

Luna was a force with 10 kills and three blocks while matching Hedlund with two aces.

Lowry, Watkins, and Heather Henriksen combined for a couple dozen kills as La Conner was able to attack from multiple angles.

Nicole Henriksen was 24-of-26 on serve receive and had 16 digs.

Heather Henriksen and Watkins finished with 21 and 18 digs, respectively.

“I was proud of how we were able to close out the match,” Marble said. “We were behind 15-20 in set two and came back to win. Even when we were down in sets two and three we were able to finish.

“I’m super proud of these young ladies,” she added, “and the hard work they’ve put into this season.”

Not to mention the extended travel time for a group that’s given the phrase “driven to succeed” added meaning.