Even before the Davis girls basketball team made history by cutting down the Tacoma Dome nets at the Class 4A state tournament in March, several of its players had already been part of a momentous Pirates event.
Last November, Davis claimed a spot in the state volleyball tournament for the first time since 1997. And with a roster that graduated two seniors, the Pirates figure to be in contention for a SunDome spot against this fall.
Fourth-year coach Steve Standley has led a program culture shift. Also-rans no more, the players know they have to be ready for their opponent’s best effort.
“Being able to prove to our school that there’s female athletes that can get it done in multiple sports is pretty cool,” Pirates middle blocker/outside hitter Paige Gasseling said. “We get to walk around school and represent.”
Following a 2023 season in which they tied for second place in the CBBN with West Valley behind Wenatchee, the Pirates started to surge early in the 2024 campaign.
Davis upended defending Class 4A champion Wenatchee in the final of mid-September’s SunDome Volleyball Festival, an event in which the Panthers were the back-to-back winners.
The upstarts finished conference play 10-2, the only losses to Wenatchee, and earned the Big Nine’s second state berth.
Once in the SunDome, the Pirates proved they belonged, winning their opener and pushing
eventual champion Curtis to four sets, none of them decided by more than five points.
Davis wouldn’t earn a trophy, something it hasn’t done since a fourth-place finish in 1979, falling one match short.
The Pirates have continued its strong play early this season, and much of the success is spawned by a junior class that has an impact on both courts.
Gasseling and Cheyenne Hull are a pair of 6-footers who are part of a formidable front that’s helping make up for the graduation of all-Big Nine first-teamer Kailey Wilsey, now at Central Washington.
Both were honorable mention all-conference a season ago, and setter and fellow 11th-grader Isa Garcia was a second-team selection.
In basketball, Hull was the conference player of the year and all-state, while Garcia and Gasseling were first- and second-team all-CBBN selections, respectively.
“Athleticism is amazing and great, but can they be coachable?” Standley said. “This is a coachable group, they really are.”
Much like they are in basketball, the players are versatile, giving Standley plenty of options.
“A lot of my kids will play multiple positions to where in any given rotation I can go, ‘you outside. OK, you in the middle,’” he said. “It’s coming along, but we still have some work to do.”
The Pirates were set to visit Moses Lake, an opponent they sept twice last year. Still, Davis players know they can’t take the Mavericks – or anybody else – lightly.
“We just have to stay together as a team, we can’t go in with an ego.” Gasseling said. “It’s still good to have confidence in ourselves, but stay grounded and come together as a team.”
CONFERENCE OVERVIEWS
CBBN: WENATCHEE, the 2023 state champion, looks to finish unbeaten in league play for the third straight season, and got a jump on this season by sweeping DAVIS in league-opening action. … The Pirates remain a top contender for a state berth with a junior-led group that last fall earned the program its first state berth since the late 1990s. … WEST VALLEY will try to rebound after missing out on state for the first time since 2010.
CWAC: ELLENSBURG was the state runner-up last year and looks to be the favorite again, even with 2024 conference player of the year Alana Marrs now at Oregon State. The Bulldogs have qualified for state the past 10 tournaments, with five top-five finishes. … SELAH, which debuted at No. 8 in the Washington State Volleyball Coaches Association Poll, is trying to reach the state tournament first time post-pandemic. … TOPPENISH placed eighth in last year’s state tournament but will have to reload quickly as graduation took its toll.
SCAC: CASHMERE got a jump on its state quest by dethroning two-time defending Class 2B champion Manson at the SunDome volleyball festival this past weekend. Reigning conference player of the year Macie Smart, a junior outside hitter, leads the way for the Bulldogs. … ZILLAH grabbed a state berth after finishing fifth in conference play.
2024 CONFERENCE RECORDS
CBBN: Wenatchee 12-0, Davis 10-2, West Valley 7-5, Moses Lake 7-5, Eastmont 4-8, Eisenhower 2-10, Sunnyside 0-12.
CWAC: Ellensburg 8-0, Selah 7-1, Prosser 6-2, Toppenish 4-4, Ephrata 4-4, Grandview 3-5, East Valley 3-5, Othello 1-7, Quincy 0-8.
SCAC: Cashmere 16-0, Connell 12-4, Royal 11-5, College Place 11-5, Zillah 10-6, Naches Valley 5-11, Wapato 4-12, Wahluke 2-14, Kiona Benton 1-15.
RETURNING ALL-LEAGUERS
CBBN
First team: Kristen Leaverton, West Valley, outside hitter, jr.; Kardyn Martinez, Moses Lake, middle hitter, sr.; Katie Strong, West Valley, libero, jr.
Second team: Claire Demirjian, Wenatchee, outside hitter, jr.; Alivia Colbert, Eisenhower, outside hitter, sr.; Breven Luinstra, Wenatchee, outside hitter, sr.; Rylee Jones, Wenatchee, middle hitter, sr.; Isa Garcia, Davis, setter, jr.
Honorable mention: Cheyenne Hull, Davis, outside hitter, jr.; Catalina Armijo, Eisenhower, outside hitter, jr.; Abby Herrera, Sunnyside, outside hitter, sr.; Paige Gasseling, Davis, middle hitter, jr.; Avary Didjurgis, Eastmont, middle hitter, sr.; Jaylin Cullen, Sunnyside, middle hitter, so.; Grayce Morris, Sunnyside, setter, jr.; Cheyene Phillips, Eisenhower, setter, jr.; Emily Suydam, Eastmont, setter, sr.; Kenadi Duncan, Eastmont, setter, jr.; Ellie Gale, Eastmont, libero, jr.; Braelen Skinner, Eisenhower, libero, sr.; Mia Mendoza, Sunnyside, libero, sr.
CWAC
First team: Kjersten DuBois, Selah, outside hitter, so.; Madilynn Shurtleff, Selah, outside hitter, sr.; Joely Tornow, Ellensburg, middle blocker, sr.; Herbie Wright, Prosser, outside hitter, jr.
Second team: Kennedy Bailey, Prosser, middle blocker, sr.
Honorable mention: Emilee Nelson-Hawkins, Selah, setter, sr.; Aubree Roseberry, Ellensburg, libero, sr.; Angela Soto, East Valley, middle blocker, sr.; Sarah Stueckle, Ellensburg, setter, sr.
SCAC
First team: Macie Smart, Cashmere, outside hitter, jr.; Cali Diaz, Cashmere, setter, jr.; Taylor Kunz, Cashmere, middle hitter, jr.
Second team: Mandy Barba, Cashmere, libero, jr.; Hazel Schade, Cashmere, middle hitter, sr.; Marli Curtis, Connell, outside hitter/setter, so.; Madyn Smith, Royal, outside hitter, jr.; Katy Veloz, Wahluke, outside hitter, jr.
Honorable mention: Teagan Kerns, Cashmere, outside hitter, jr.; Tericiauna Jackson, Kiona-Benton, libero, jr.; Mia Staggs, Naches Valley, middle hitter, jr.; Jordyn Bobb, Wapato, setter, so.
