Sports - High Schools

POSTED: Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

PREP VOLLEYBALL: Ferndale eliminates Mount Vernon to move on in the Class 3A Northwest District Tournament

The Ferndale volleyball team got back on track Thursday, Nov. 5, with a 26-24, 16-25, 25-17, 25-22 home win over Mount Vernon in the Class 3A Northwest District Tournament.

The Golden Eagles lost their Monday, Nov. 2 match against Lynnwood, bumping them to the consolation bracket.

Ferndale moves on to play Shorecrest, a team that defeated Lynnwood in straight sets, in another elimination game at noon on Saturday, Nov. 7 at Cascade High School. The winner of Saturday's match will play for third place in the district tournament and a spot in the state tournament.

"We've made it as far as we did last year, and now have new goals to keep going," Ferndale coach Patti Hoelzle said in a phone interview.

Erika Locker and Amber Evans led Ferndale on offense with 20 combined kills. Defensively, McKenzie Clark and Madison Harte combined for seven blocks. Leslie Sigurdson also added 20 digs.

"We were really led by our defense tonight," Hoelzle said. "McKenzie and Madison really shut down some of Mount Vernon's big hitters, which helped out our defense."

Hoelzle said her team is going back to basics to prepare for Saturday's match against Shorecrest.

"We've had a long season and we're going back to fundamental hitting and serving before the game to minimize our unforced errors," Hoelzle said. "We want to make sure we're running the kind of game we want to run, and then I think we could play any team."

Mount Vernon, after suffering a 3-0 loss from Meadowdale this week, has been eliminated.