Nooksack Valley volleyball loses to King’s, ending hopes of state

Nooksack Valley volleyball’s season ended with a 3-0 loss to King’s in the afternoon, following a 3-2 win over Forest Ridge in the morning during the Class 1A Bi-District Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Overlake High School.

“This year we had to beat King’s to go to state and it was a really difficult challenge but the girls played really hard and they left it all out on the court,” Nooksack Valley coach Katie Emmons said in a phone interview. “I’m really proud of them.”

Nooksack Valley began the season 0-4 but really began to grow as a team after some mid-season wins, Emmons said.

“As our ball handling and serving improved we became smarter players,” she said. “That’s why we made it as far as we did in the Bi-District, because we grew together as a team.”

Nooksack Valley ended the season 7-13.

In the morning game against Forest Ridge, Nooksack Valley’s Katrina Gimmaka led with 11 kills.

Olivia Berkan followed with nine kills and 28 digs. Brianna Turner earned eight kills, 27 digs and two blocks. Grace Himango had four blocks and Jenna Tenkley led with 25 assists.

In the second game of the day, Berkan had nine kills and 17 digs. Gimmaka had 8 kills, Turner had 10 digs and Tenkley led again with 24 assists.

Berkan, Turner and Arlissa Oettel, Nooksack Valley’s three seniors, led the team throughout the season, Emmons said. Berkan and Turner spearheaded the offensive attack in both games and Oettel made some aggressive plays to get a leg up in Ferndale’s winning matches.

“I’m happy for them because I know they have no regrets,” she said. “They played really well against Kings and gave it everything.”

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 7:39 PM with the headline "Nooksack Valley volleyball loses to King’s, ending hopes of state."