POULSBO — North Kitsap won its sixth-consecutive league championship last Saturday, but it didn’t come easy.
The Vikings played three tough sets against Kingston in the Olympic League tournament finals, prevailing by thin margins in each — 26-24, 25-21, 25-23. North Kitsap will have the No. 1 seed from the league in this weekend’s district tournament where it hopes to defend last year’s championship.
“This was a very good match,” North Kitsap head coach Tim French said. “We would make a good run, and then errors would let Kingston back in which gave them confidence. Kingston played very well all day, but we managed to win the big points at the end of each set. I’m very proud of these Vikings for the way they fight until the end of each match.”
North Kitsap (15-0) started the day with No. 4 seed North Mason, winning in straight sets, 25-18, 25-22, 25-13.
Noelani Barreith led the Vikings with 26 kills, 27 digs and a 96.8 serving percentage over the course of two matches. Riley Rabedeaux added 21 kills and 31 digs, Maddie Pruden had 11 kills and two blocks, and Autumn Carver racked up 33 assists and nine aces. Taylor Clodfelder had 14 kills and seven blocks, and Joslyn League had a perfect service record to go along with 30 assists.
Meanwhile, for the second year in a row, Kingston (11-5) leapfrogged the regular season’s No. 2 team by defeating them in the league tournament. The Bucs knocked off Sequim 25-12, 13-25, 25-18, 25-21. Kingston will have the league’s No. 2 seed this weekend.
2A Volleyball District 3 Tournament (all matches at Franklin Pierce High School)
North Kitsap — plays Friday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m., against the winner of Foss-Steilacoom. If they win, they qualify for state and play Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. with a seeding game to follow at 7:30 p.m. A loss on Friday means they would have to play and win three in a row to make state on Saturday.
Kingston — plays Eatonville on Friday, Nov. 2 at 5:15 p.m. A win sends them to an 8:30 p.m. matchup with White River. A win there qualifies them for state and they would play at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. for seeding. A loss sends them to the left side of the bracket where they would have to win three in a row to make the state tournament.
3A West Central/Southwest Bi-District Tournament
Central Kitsap — plays Lakes at noon on Nov. 3 at Capital High School. A win means a match at 2 p.m. against Capital. The rest of the tournament will take place on Saturday, Nov. 10 at either Bonney Lake or Capital.
1A District Tournament (all matches at Charles Wright Academy)
Klahowya — plays Bellevue Christian at 11 a.m. on Nov. 3. A win sends them to the championship match at 5 p.m. A loss means they would need two victories to grab the second seed for the state tournament.
— Mark Krulish is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. He can be reached at mkrulish@soundpublishing.com. Follow him on Twitter @MKrulishKDN.
