East Valley, Colville win at district volleyball

East Valley jumped out early and held on to beat visiting Pullman in the semifinal round of the District 7 2A tournament Wednesday night.

East Valley took the first two sets before Pullman stormed back and seized the third. The Knights quickly quelled any momentum from the Pullman side by rushing out to an 11-1 fourth-set lead. They never looked back. Sam Geibel and Elisha Allred led East Valley with 12 kills each.

Earlier in the evening, Pullman swept Clarkston in a loser-out match. Rachel Dinsmoor paced the stingy Pullman defense with 17 digs.

In the other side of the bracket played in Colville, Cheney defeated West Valley for the third time in a month to advanced to the semifinals. Behind 41 assists from Ashley Case, the Blackhawks overwhelmed the Eagles, taking the match in four sets.

Host Colville awaited Cheney in the semifinal round, and the top-seeded Indians spent little time disposing of their visitors, winning in straight sets. Joellee Buckner pounded 15 kills to lead Colville.

The tournament finishes on Saturday in Colville. East Valley plays Colville in the championship at 3 p.m., while Cheney takes on Pullman in a loser-out game at 5.

• Rogers was not eliminated from the District 8 3A volleyball playoffs, as indicated in Wednesday’s story on page B5.

The Pirates are the No. 4 seed to regionals and will play on Saturday at the site of the Mid-Columbia Conference No. 1 seed.