YAKIMA – Having graduated four all-leaguers from a team that finished third at Class 4A state, you’d figure Wenatchee volleyball coach Jordan McGregor might ease the younger players into the season.

And you would’ve figured wrong.

The Panthers, ranked fourth in the coaches poll, finished a rugged 11-day stretch Tuesday 

night with a sweep at CBBN rival West Valley 25-7, 25-20, 25-12.

Starting with a Sept. 6 trip to 2A No. 1 Lynden, Wenatchee ran a gauntlet that included a league-opening sweep of CBBN runner-up Davis, then the SunDome Volleyball Festival and defending 3A champion Ridgeline, the Lions (again) and 1A No. 3 Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls), and finally the visit to the Rams.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” McGregor said of the scheduling. “I like to stack my nonleague schedule. I’d rather play good teams and have a tough schedule first, that way it’s 

not shocking come November for us.”

Senior middle Rylee Jones and junior outside hitter Claire Demirjian, two second-team all-Big 

Nine selections a year ago, were the key to the Panthers’ dominance Tuesday.

Jones, a Central Washington commit, helped Wenatchee control the net for much of the match.

After breezing through the first set, Demirjian proved effective all over the court in the second, when the Panthers had to rally from an 11-6 deficit.

It was her kill that started the comeback, and her back-to-back aces that put Wenatchee ahead 15-14.

Still, the Rams, led by two returning all-leaguers of their own – hitter Kristen Leaverton and 

libero Katie Strong, wouldn’t go away, and knotted the score at 18.

From her left side, though, Demirjian ended the set with a pair of kills.

“I couldn’t be more proud of how some of these seniors have stepped up and how some of these underclassmen have stepped up,” McGregor said. “I knew what we were capable of, we’ve had a deep bench for a few years, and it was just those girls’ time to shine.”

The Panthers scored the first six points of the third set, and cruised from there, clearing the bench to help replenish the depth that have helped them advance to the past five state tournaments with the 2023 championship the biggest prize of those berths.

“They’ve been doing great,” Jones said of the younger players. “I think everybody has been stepping into their new roles perfectly.”

Wenatchee, which hasn’t dropped a league match since 2022, improves to 2-0 in conference play, while the Rams are 0-1.

West Valley heads to Moses Lake on Thursday, while the Panthers host the Mavericks on Sept. 23.