The Prep Beat

The North Kitsap Vikings lost their first round match to Selah Friday morning at the Class 2A volleyball tournament in Kennewick.
The Vikings lost 25-12, 25-15, 25-15. NK plays a loser-out match at 8 a.m. Saturday against Lynden. Lynden lost 3-0 to Fife.
Sequim also lost its opening match to Anacortes 25-11, 25-18, 25-15. The Wolves also play a loser-out match Saturday morning against either Tumwater or Grandview.
Port Angeles also lost its opening match to Black Hills 3-0. It will play White River on Saturday morning.

I’m going to take a few minutes and look into the crystal ball for the upcoming volleyball playoffs as area West Sound teams vie for positioning.

Let’s start with the Class 4A Narrows League and Central Kitsap and South Kitsap.

The Cougars of CK are 7-2 sit in third place. The Narrows League tournament, Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at Mount Tahoma, will send six berths to the West Central District tournament. If CK stays in third, they will face the No. 6 seed — which coincidentally enough could be South Kitsap (4-4). The Cougars do play Gig Harbor (9-0) Monday.

The big showdown in the Narrows is today’s match between Gig Harbor and Olympia (8-0). The winner of that game will be the No. 1 seed. I spoke to CK coach Gordy Bushaw when he called in his results, and he said the better of the two teams is Olympia. Bushaw keeps stats on serve receive based on a 3-point calculation and Oly was passing at a 2.6 clip against CK.

Another note on CK, the Cougars welcomed back sophomore standout Tricia Vantino, who suffered a mild concussion last week against Wilson. Vantino sat out the Olympia match, but returned to play against Mount Tahoma Wednesday and had 21 assists. Also, senior defensive specialist Dakota Cavanaugh tied a school record with 11 aces against MT. Katie Wilkinson held the record, set in the 2006 state tournament.

In the 3A division of the Olympic League, North Kitsap has wrapped up the No. 1 seed and will more than likely face Capital from the Western Cascade Conference in the sub-district tourney to determine the overall No. 1 berth to the WCD tourney, being held at Auburn Mountainview HS, Nov. 6-8. Olympic HS secured the No. 2 spot and will host the WCC No. 3 team — either North Thurston or Timberline. That game is scheduled for Nov. 3, but could change because the girls soccer team is playing that day as well.

The 2A OL schools head straight to the WCD (time/date TBA). If it’s anything like last year, No. 1 seed Sequim will play the winner of the OL No. 3/Nisqually League No. 2. Last year’s OL champs North Mason is holding onto the No. 2 seed and could play a loser-out game in the first round. More info on that to come later.

As for Crosspoint Academy (2B), Port Townsend (1A) and Chimacum (1A) those remain a little muddy at the moment and I will come back with an update at a later date.

We’re back again with this week’s West Sound power poll and a look ahead to some playoff scenarios.

1, North Kitsap (14-2): The Vikings extended their winning streak to 10 after a victory over Olympic last week that clinched at least a share of the Olympic League title. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, NK (which is ranked No. 5 in the state coaches poll)  should win its final three games and claim the No. 1 seed to the sub-district tourney.

2, Gig Harbor (12-0): Much like the Vikings, the Class 4A Tides have beat all comers in the Narrows League and are the favorite to win the NL tourney in two weeks.

3, Central Kitsap (9-2): The Cougars have reeled off seven straight wins, including an impressive 3-2 win over Wilson last week. CK faces Olympia, Mount Tahoma and Gig Harbor to finish the regular season.

4, Olympic (7-5): The Trojans are playing well and have won seven of their last eight matches to all but wrap up the No. 2 spot into the sub-districts.

5, Sequim (7-2): The Wolves are the No. 1 2A team in the OL and have four divisional games left before districts. Their only league losses have come against NK and Oly.

On the bubble: Port Angeles (6-3), Bremerton (4-4).

A Look Ahead

Today: Bainbridge (0-6) takes on rival Blanchet (8-0).

Tuesday: Port Angeles travels to Poulsbo to take on North Kitsap. A win by the Vikings and NK clinches the OL title. Olympic faces Bremerton.

Wednesday: Olympic is at South Kitsap for its ‘Dig Pink’ match. Meanwhile, winless Mount Tahoma travels to Silverdale to take on Central Kitsap.

Thursday: Unbeatens Olympia and Gig Harbor face off in GH, while South Kitsap is at Foss. Port Townsend travels to North Mason as the Bulldogs are looking to shore up a playoff berth.