Playing its best volleyball of the season at the most opportune time, the Carey High School volleyball team is going back to the state tournament for the first time in four years.
Sixth-year Carey coach Kathy Whitworth was pleased that the #3-seeded Panthers captured second place in last week's Northside Conference tournament and qualified for the eight-team State 1A Division 2 tournament Oct. 30-31 at Lewiston High School gym.
Carey (16-8) earned its state trip Saturday at Dietrich High School gym with a 25-22, 25-13, 26-24 win over the #4-seeded Richfield Tigers (8-12). Then the Panthers went one step further by rallying past the top-seeded Camas County Mushers (16-3) in a marathon five-set thriller 18-25, 21-25, 25-18, 27-25, 15-11.
The outcome gave Carey its first Northside championship match berth since 2005. Whitworth's Panthers made the state grade in 2004-05, then had 8-18 and 6-18 seasons before bouncing back with a 14-11 Northside fourth place in 2008.
Dietrich, last year's state third-place finisher, then captured its second straight Northside tournament title over the exhausted Panthers 25-17, 25-23, 25-10. Sophomore setter Jessica Perron led the Blue Devils to the championship.
Leading Carey against Richfield were sophomore Micaela Adamson (12 kills), senior Jenni Murphy (8 kills, 3 aces), senior Amy Ellsworth (4 kills, 2 blocks), senior Jessica Parke (6 kills, 10 serving winners, 3 aces) and senior setter Taylor Whitby (3 kills, 13 serving winners, 2 aces). Ellsworth, Murphy, Parke and Whitby also starred in the Dietrich finale.
The wounded Mushers, playing without injured senior setter Erica Phantharasen, had lost to host Dietrich 26-24, 25-18, 23-25, 25-16 earlier Saturday. By finishing third, Camas County also qualified for state.
Coach Reamy Goodwin's Community School Cutthroats (6-11) finished a fine comeback season by winning once at the Northside meet, 25-20, 25-14, 25-10 over #7 Murtaugh. Richfield then eliminated the Cutthroats 25-15, 25-8, 25-10 Thursday.
At Lewiston, Carey will join State 1A Division 2 tournament newcomers Clark Fork and Clark County of Dubois, along with returning state teams Garden Valley, Dietrich, Camas County, Nezperce and North Gem of Bancroft.
Garden Valley, winner of two of the last three small school state volleyball tournaments, is ranked #1 in the state and will open up against Camas County Friday at 1 p.m. Second-ranked Clark County (13-5) debuts against Carey at 8:30 a.m. Friday. And Dietrich plays Clark County at 11:30 a.m.
Carey senior Jenni Murphy blocks a ball hit by Community School senior Maggie Flood during last Wednesday’s Northside Conference tournament match at Dietrich. Pictured from left are Meredith Pintler of The Community School, Carey’s Micaela Adamson, Murphy and Flood. Courtesy photo by John Peck
