The Class 5A volleyball state championship will be an all-Intermountain Conference — and all-Bend — affair when top-seeded Summit and No. 3 Bend High face each other Saturday night at Liberty High School.
For the first time since 2009, when Crook County defeated Summit in the 5A championship, the state final will feature two IMC teams.
On Friday, Summit beat No. 8 Hood River Valley in the quarterfinals 17-25, 26-24, 25-17, 25-15, then took out Corvallis 18-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-23 in the semifinals to advance to the title game.
Bend, the defending state champion, defeated No. 11 Dallas 25-9, 25-17, 25-19 before taking down No. 7 Lebanon 25-18, 25-16, 25-17 in the semifinals.
The Storm and the Lava Bears played each other three times during the regular season. The two teams split the two IMC matches, and Summit defeated Bend in the Clearwater Classic.
“It was a good day for us,” Summit coach Jill Waskom said of the team’s two wins on Friday. “We’re still looking for that peak performance. We’re excited to play Bend for sure. It’s a good rivalry and always a good match. The girls are really excited and looking forward it.”
Against Hood River Valley, Haley Smith led the Storm with 23 kills, and Ella Knowlton added 11 kills. In the win over Corvallis, Smith and Knowlton each had 16 kills and Jade Waskom finished with 13 kills, 14 digs and four aces.
For Bend, Sonna Faulkner had 12 kills against Dallas, and Kaci Cox added eight kills and 14 digs. In the semifinal victory over Lebanon, Cambree Scott had 12 kills and three blocks, and Cox had seven kills.
“We’re serving really well and passing really well, and that’s really helping us,” said Bend coach Kristin Cooper. “That makes the rest of the game really flow for us. I’m really proud of the way they played. It’s great to see two IMC teams in the championship. It’ll be a nice, hard match and it’ll be fun. We’re pretty evenly matched.”