by Staff Report
The Anacortes girls volleyball team served notice early that it was primed for the Class 2A state tournament in Kennewick.
The Seahawks opened with a 27-25, 20-25, 25-18, 15-25, 15-6 victory Friday over a previously unbeaten North Mason team.
Anacortes, a fourth seed from the Northwest District, lost its next two matches, however, and did not place in the 16-team competition. Anacortes finished the season at 14-7, a big turnaround from last year’s 4-13 record in conference play.
“We had a lot of people step up. It was a big improvement,” coach Ashley Abrams said. “The seniors will be missed, but we have a lot of good young girls coming up. I’m very proud.”
The win over North Mason, the West Central District champs, was the highlight of the weekend.
“We looked great in the first game and came out with a win,” Abrams said. “We played well at times, but it was really up and down.”
Anacortes lost to Black Hills 25-8, 23-25, 26-24, 25-16 on Friday and to Northwest Conference rival Burlington-Edison 25-16, 25-10, 25-17 on Saturday.
It was the fourth time this season the Tigers, who finished seventh at state, have tamed the Seahawks.
“We did better than when we played them last time,” Abrams said. “We just got behind a couple times. Once we got in a rhythm, we came back as much as we could.”
Anacortes’ last state trip was a fifth-place finish in 2005.
