YAKIMA — The first day of the Class 2B State Volleyball Tournament played out as expected for the two-time defending state champion La Conner Braves.

With wins over both Mossyrock and Pomeroy, the Braves advanced to face Davenport at 3:30 p.m. today at the Yakima Valley SunDome. The No. 4 ranked Gorillas swept Riverside Christian in three games.

The Braves started the day with a four-game victory over Pomeroy, 25-18, 25-8, 22-25, 25-16.

La Conner then defeated the Mossy Rock in straight games, 25-23, 25-16, 25-11.

Mossy Rock swept Kittitas 25-21, 25-20, 25-20 before falling to the Braves.

The Pirates managed to do something none of the Braves’ Northwest 1A/2B League rivals could do this season — they won a game. The Braves finished their league 14-0, not dropping a single game along the way.

In both matches the Braves started cold in the first game but heated up quickly.

“I feel a little better now,” said La Conner coach Suzanne Marble. “We are still, however, starting slow and making way too many unforced errors. We gave away 10 points on serving alone. We have to cut that down because at this stage of the game, you can’t do it.”

Against Mossyrock in the first game, the Braves found themselves down 22-20 late in the match. Two straight points tied it and a kill by Julie Hulbert put La Conner up one.

The Vikings tied it at 23 before La Conner pulled away for the slim victory.

“You can’t play timid at the state tournament,” said Marble. “You can’t come out tipping the ball. You have to come out strong. There’s always that dark horse out there that could sneak up and surprise you.

“We got down in that first game. Then they came on. They did what they had to do.”

Marble mixed in Chelsey Allman and was pleased with the effort she saw off the bench.

“She brought a little fire onto the court,” Marble said. “She really helped turn things around when things just weren’t working. She was a real inspiration.”

Allman’s spark combined with the splendid play on the outside from Kelsey Kennedy and Abi Hedlund would prove to be more than the Vikings could handle.

Hedlund ended the match with 13 kills and Kennedy three aces, four kills and 15 digs.

Add to that Hulbert’s eight kills to go along with 18 digs and Anna Thostenson’s four aces and the Braves weren’t going to crumble.

“It’s just one point at a time,” said Hulbert. “We play every point like it’s the last point of the game. We practice those situations all the time.

“In that first game, I think a lot of it is jitters. It was just a matter of focusing and coming together as a team. Then getting done what we needed to do.”

Kennedy added it’s all about playing as a team.

“It’s about getting fired up,” she said. “And that means everyone. The players on the court and on the bench.”

Mossyrock coach Alex Nelson said her squad may have found itself a bit intimidated.

“It’s tough when you play a team like that,” she said. “There is some intimidation. I mean you look at their record and they have nothing but 3-0, 3-0, 3-0 wins all seasons. That’s very intimidating.

“We just played the best team in the state. They are a very solid team. They are a very good team.”

After the glacial start, the Braves got down to business.

In Game 2 against Mossyrock, La Conner took matters into its own hands, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. That lead soon ballooned to 16-8.

Mossyrock made a late charge to pull within eight at 22-14, but by then, the victory was well within the Braves’ grasp.

“Everyone played hard,” said Kennedy. “They gave it their all and it showed.”

Game 3 was never in doubt as the Braves simply dominated from start to finish. At one point, the score was 20-9.

“We are happy to be moving on,” said Hulbert. “We are ready to go.”

In the opening game against Pomeroy, La Conner stumbled, but rebounded to win in four games.

In that match Candice Pedroza served up six aces and had 32 assists. Hedlund tallied nine kills and three aces, Hulbert had 25 digs to go along with 12 kills and Kennedy made 21 digs and had eight kills.

Notes
After the first day of the Class 2B state tournament, the three top-ranked teams are still alive. La Conner, Colfax and Tekoa-Oaksdale not only advanced, but the trio also represent last year’s state champions in three separate classifications. In 2007, Colfax won the 1A title, La Conner the 2B title and Tekoa-Oaksdale the 1B championship. ... A raucous crowd of Brave students were just a little more than opposing fans could handle. Faces painted and truly wearing their colors on the sleeves, and hair, the group was eventually told they had to keep it down and keep the standing to a minimum.

• Vince Richardson can be reached at 360-416-2181 or by e-mail at