After a high-stakes weekend of regional play, Highline volleyball advances to the quarterfinals with a 2-1 tournament record.
Akshay Rabadia/THUNDERWORD
Last weekend, Highline hosted the NWAC regional playoffs for the West after clinching the division title with a record of 11-1. Highline fell to Skagit Valley but defeated Treasure Valley on two different occasions to continue their postseason run through the next week.
On Saturday, No. 1 Highline hosted No. 4 in the East, Treasure Valley in the first round of the tournament.
The Lady T-Birds dropped the first set 25-22, but made a quick turnaround to beat the Chuks 25-17, 25-18, and 25-16.
Jack Harton/Thunderbird Athletics
Highline’s Rebecca Zenger lunges to pass opponent’s serve, backed up by Angelina Pham
The second round was a highly intense match up between No. 1 Highline and No. 2 Skagit Valley. The winner would punch their ticket to the NWAC championships next weekend while the loser would have to win once more in the match shortly after.
Highline came out on top in the first set with an above average box score of 30-28. Skagit Valley remained poised and responded back in the next three sets, beating the Thunderbirds 25-14, 25-16, and 29-27.
The team was led by Bethany Tuchardt who finished the game with 14 kills and Angelina Pham who finished the game with 11 kills. Back from injury, Lauren Clark frequently set her teammates up to score, ending the game with 19 assists.
Due to the loss, Highline had to play back-to-back on Sunday. The Lady T-Birds needed one more win to qualify for the NWAC quarter finals next Friday.
Going up against a familiar opponent, Highline faced Treasure Valley again in a go-big-or-go-home matchup.
The Lady T-Birds bounced back from their earlier loss, redeeming themselves with a victory to advance to the NWAC quarter finals.
Highline made it clear they were here to stay, sweeping Treasure Valley 3-0. The Lady T-Birds progressively widened the scoring gap 25-20, 25-11, and 25-18.
This Friday, Highline is set to face 16-0 Linn-Benton College in the NWAC quarter finals at 2 p.m. The tournament will be held at Pierce College in a single-elimination format.
