In the morning on Nov. 17, students at Arlington High School will send off the volleyball team as they travel to Yakima to compete in the state tournament.
“They want to come home with a win, and they want to come home with their heads held high,” Pederson said.
The Eagles qualified for state thanks to their third-place performance in the District 1, 3A tournament that took place Nov. 9 through Nov. 13.
“We really tried to function as a whole team,” Arlington volleyball coach Kelly Pederson said.
The Eagles first opponent on Nov. 9 was Oak Harbor who qualified thanks to a play-in win earlier in the evening against Mountlake Terrace. Arlington dispatched Oak Harbor in three sets, 25-18, 25-18 and 25-17.
Arlington lost in the quarterfinals on Nov. 11 to Stanwood in five sets, 25-17, 19-25, 23-25, 25-15, 10-15. Stanwood placed second in the tournament losing to champion Ferndale.
“We struggled with Stanwood in a mindset perspective, but not in a technical perspective,” Pederson said.
Stanwood defeated Arlington Oct. 11 in five sets, which was the Eagles only league loss of the season.
“The kids let the rivalry in their heads,” Pederson said.
Arlington played two matches Nov. 3. The Eagles beat defeated Everett 3-0 (25-16, 25-21 and 25-20) and then, for third place in the tournament, they defeated Snohomish 3-0 (25-15, 25-13 and 25-23).
Up next for Arlington is a trip to the Yakima SunDome to compete in the 3A state championship that takes place Nov. 18 and Nov. 19.
The Eagles have the 11th seed and face six-seed Seattle’s Bishop Blanchet in the first round. Pederson said she saw Bishop Blanchet participate in the Reach the Peack tournament at Glacier Peak in September, but Arlington didn’t play the school during the earlier tournament.
“Arlington’s all-around game has an opportunity to have good success against Bishop Blanchet,” Pederson said.
The 3A tournament will be different this year taking place a day earlier in the week. WIAA officials had to move up the 3A tournament one day to make room at the SunDome for the 4A tournament. Organizers had to switch venues from St. Martin University.
“We just have to go with the flow,” Pederson said of the change.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.