Bears, Nannies, Shockers among the state's elite VB teams

YAKIMA-Three of the four Quad City schools sent teams to this year's State Volleyball Championships at the SunDome.

Waterville-Mansfield played two matches, bowing out in the first round of consolation. Brewster and Pateros each played three, and exited after the second round of consolation. Both Nannies and Bears returned home with the satisfaction of at least having bested one team.

Pateros began by playing Evergreen Lutheran at 8 a.m. on Nov. 13, the first day of play at the fabled SunDome. The Nannies prevailed 3-2.

"The girls created enough chaos to keep us close, and that's as close as it gets," Pateros coach Gene Dowers wrote in an email.

Then, at the end of the day, around 7 p.m. Pateros took the court against Mount Vernon Christian, with MVC prevailing 3-1. They would go on to finish fourth.

The next day, Pateros faced a somewhat familiar foe in Almira Coulee Hartline, with ACH taking the match 3-1. ACH would go on to finish fifth.

"They won, but it was likely their ugliest win of the season," Dowers wrote in an email.

Brewster began by losing 3-0 to La Conner on another 8 a.m. match Nov. 13. La Conner finished in second place. The Bears then rebounded by beating Tri-Cities Prep 3-1, before losing to eventual seventh-place finisher Wilbur-Creston 3-2.

Waterville-Mansfield began with a 3-0 loss to Northwest Christian, which eventually finished sixth. The Shockers then bid farewell to the tournament after losing to Reardan 3-1. Reardan eventually finished eighth.