Springdale Continues Dominant Season with NEA League Championship

State tournament ticket? Punched. NE1B League championship? Won. Springdale's dominant season continues as the Chargers notched three consecutive wins over three days to win the NEA League title. And they aren't done. The Chargers now sit at 21-2 on the season and opened tournament play Thursday, Oct. 29, with straight-set victories over Inchelium and Wilbur-Creston-Keller on their home court in Springdale. The semifinal victory over Wilbur-Creston-Keller se- cured a berth in the state tournament. Springdale then traveled to Wellpinit on Saturday, Oct. 31, where the Chargers defeated Valley Christian in four sets to claim the league championship.

The Valley Christian team had handed them a loss earlier in the season. Senior Kaylin Gines led the way throughout the tournament, delivering three outstanding offensive performances, including 27 kills in the championship match. Springdale wasted little time establishing control in its tournament opener against Inchelium, sweeping the Hornets 25-3, 25-11, and 25-7. Gines led Springdale's offensive attack with 14 kills on 16 attempts without an attack error, finishing with an impressive .875 hitting percentage. Senior Kazlin Rainer contributed nine kills and four blocks, while sophomore McKinley Schroeder added two kills and four service aces. Sophomore Kamryn Cloninger was outstanding from the service line, recording six aces, while senior Ashlynn-Mae Ford directed the offense with 18 assists.

With a state tournament berth on the line, Springdale continued its winning ways in the semifinals against Wilbur-Creston-Keller. The Chargers swept the Wild- cats 25-15, 25-21, and 25-18 to punch their ticket to Yakima and advance to the Saturday, Nov. 7, league title match. Gines once again led Springdale's offense, recording 17 kills, while adding 12 digs and four service aces. Schroeder delivered another strong performance with 10 kills and a team-high 15 digs, while Rainer contributed five kills and five blocks. Ford recorded 19 assists and 10 digs, and senior Trinity Farnsworth added six digs. Junior Emily Small contributed nine digs, while Cloninger finished with six digs and five assists. Springdale faced Valley Christian in Saturday's championship match in Wellpinit, where the Chargers were pushed through four sets before emerging with a 25-20, 22-25, 25-21, and 25-23 victory.

After taking the opening set, Springdale saw Valley Christian respond with a 25-22 win in the second to even the match. The Chargers regained control with a 25-21 victory in the third set. Valley Christian took a commanding lead in the fourth set, but Springdale refused to go away, and eventually clawed back to win 25-23. Gines delivered her biggest offensive performance of the tournament, finishing with 27 kills on 60 attacks. She also recorded a teamhigh 22 digs and three service aces, contributing on both sides of the ball. During the matchup she appeared to have suffered a serious ankle injury, but continued playing through the pain despite the occasional sign of a hobble. Schroeder added 11 kills and 19 digs, and Rainer finished with five kills and two service aces.

Ford contributed five kills, 20 assists, 12 digs, and four service aces, providing a balanced performance in the champi- onship victory. Cloninger added 13 assists and 12 digs, while Small played a significant defensive role with 21 digs. Valley Christian was evenly matched with the Chargers causing back and forth volleys, but the Springdale defense held, combining for 99 digs. Springdale also recorded 12 service aces, while Valley Christian’s only apparent weakness was the occasional ball in the net. Springdale was much more consistent from the service stripe and had several aces, including four from Ford, three from Gines, and two each from Rainer and Farnsworth. The upcoming district tournament will just set up seeding for regional 1B volleyball teams.