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POSTED: Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009

PREP VOLLEYBALL: Lynden heading back to the state tournament

ARLINGTON - Lynden's Angie Dallas, the mother of four sons, is doing pretty well with 14 new "daughters" as a rookie varsity volleyball coach.

Hannah Shine, Lynden's only returning regular after the graduation of an outstanding senior class, had 20 kills to lead the Lions to two vital victories in the Class 2A Northwest District Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Lakewood High School.

Lynden's first win, a 25-20, 25-21, 25-16 sweep of South Whidbey, landed the Lions back in the state tournament, extending the streak that senior class enjoyed.

Lynden's second victory, a 25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 27-25 win over Anacortes, gave the Lions third place and a more advantageous seeding for state. Anacortes will go as fourth seed after eliminating Sehome 25-22, 25-22, 25-23.

"Everyone doubted us (when the season began), but we all just really believed in ourselves," said Lynden junior outside hitter Laura Webb, who had six kills and three aces against South Whidbey and nine digs and seven kills against Anacortes. "I'm really excited."

Dallas agreed that the Lions looked so versatile that they resembled a softball team with numerous players who can perform well at several positions and a poised baseline tennis player who outlasts and exasperates the opponent.

"We have (lots of) options," said Dallas. "And we have stressed reducing our errors and taking care of business on our side of the net."

Setter Justine Ellingson, one of two starting seniors along with Rebecca Rouse, provided a fitting finish when she tapped in a perfectly placed dink for match point against Anacortes.

"That was stressful," said Ellingson, who had a team-high 11 digs and often gave Lynden an unorthodox two setters on the floor at the same time in an unusual display of teamwork with junior setter/hitter Krista Groves. "I was just hoping the ball would get to that spot. That was definitely nice."

Shine agreed that Ellingson's alert move is what Lynden was all about while finishing in a three-way tie at 12-1 with Lynden Christian and Burlington-Edison for the Northwest Conference title.

"That was cool," said Shine, who had six kills in the final set against South Whidbey "It really was a smart play by Justine."

Lauren Olson, one of six juniors in Lynden's rotation, had eight blocks against Anacortes and five against South Whidbey, many of which snuffed rallies. Olson's perfectly placed dink provided match point against South Whidbey, and her block ended the first game against against the Falcons after a diving save by Groves kept the ball in play.

Groves, who had several key blocks and kills in both matches, said she never thought she would ever be this versatile for the varsity.

"I never dreamed I would be both a hitter and a setter," said Groves, whose block tied the final game against Anacortes at 24 and whose kill made it 25-all, setting up the victory. "I love getting the chance to do both, so I'm really excited."

Lynden's statistics were all about balance as well as versatility.

Carrie Starbuck, the only sophomore in the lineup, had four aces against Anacortes and Shine and Rouse had three apiece, giving the Lions one of their best serving efforts. Shine had 10 digs, Webb nine and Groves eight to go with Ellingson's 11 to go with Olson's match-high eight blocks.

Groves had a match-high 15 digs and Starbuck had seven against South Whidbey while performing well under loser-out pressure.

Lynden's most remarkable game of the day was the second set against South Whidbey. The Lions fell behind 13-4 as almost nothing went right but outscored the Falcons 21-8 the rest of the game in a remarkable display of poise for such a young team.

Lynden junior reserve Jessie Biesheuvel, seconds after checking in during the second game, made a diving dig to set up a kill by Shine, tying the set at 18 and providing the momentum Lynden needed.

"I could see how the girls were progressing, so I thought getting to state was a realistic goal," said Dallas, whose previous experience as a head coach came in her teaching role at Lynden Middle School. "Believe me, raising four boys teaching you a lot about coaching."

ANACORTES 3, SEHOME 0

The Mariners, who went 7-6 in the NWC with only two senior starters, received outstanding performances in defeat from Lacey Taubenheim (21 digs), sophomore Abby Benson (seven kills, five blocks), Janelle Allison (six kills) and Katie Adams (25 assists).

Former Sehome standout Kristy White, who took over as head coach this season at age 23, also credited sophomores Megan Johnson and Alicia Ford and junior Mina Hardisty with solid efforts.

"I'm looking forward to next year already," said White, who will lose only Taubenheim and Allison among her starters. "I couldn't have asked for any better group to coach for my first year."

White said the tight game was a significant improvement over the regular-season match against the Seahawks.

"I'm especially proud of our girls because we've had to fight through illness and injuries," she said.