Staff Report

North Creek’s volleyball team started off with a victory and then won two straight matches to finish the 4A state tournament with a fifth-place finish.

The Jaguars played 18 sets of volleyball and staged several big comebacks during the event.

At the Yakima SunDome on Nov. 22-23, the Jaguars first beat Richland (13-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-22, 15-11) and then lost to Graham-Kapowsin (25-20, 20-25, 20-25, 25-22, 13-15) on day one.

On Nov. 23, North Creek defeated Puyallup (19-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-7) and then knocked off Emerald Ridge (25-23, 25-23, 25-22) to take fifth.

Coach Richard Abiador said the Jaguars battled through adversity on both days.

Facing the challenge of playing last year’s second-place team Richland to begin the tournament, North Creek won and the coach said it showed the team’s growth over the last year.

In another five-set thriller against Graham-Kapowsin on day one, North Creek was up 7-1 in the fifth set before losing.

After North Creek fell behind Puyallup 0-2 in sets to begin day two, the coaches told the girls to keep pushing on every point. The Jaguars built momentum during the third set, notching a win and then grabbing the last two sets to advance to the fifth/sixth-place match.

Against Emerald Ridge, all 12 players contributed to the triumph.

North Creek state leaders were Jenna Howard with 107 assists, 40 digs, 19 kills, 12 aces and 10 blocks; Kyleene Filimaua with 81 kills and 46 digs; Isabella Moon with 74 digs; Allison Wilks with 49 kills; Grace Medjo with 20 kills and 10 blocks; Sofia DeCoteau with 20 kills; Emmi Foltz with 33 assists; and Hannah Heikkala with 20 digs.

WIAA/Wendy’s athlete of the week Filimaua is the 4A KingCo co-MVP and completed the season with a team-high 398 kills, 311 digs and a 12.91 passing rating.

North Creek won the 4A KingCo tournament championship, took second at the 4A Wes-King district tournament and finished 20-4 overall this season.