The Vashon High School volleyball team, after winning the league championship for the first time in the team’s history and moving on the state playoffs, didn’t get the fairy tale ending they were hoping for. The girls, who entered playoffs with a perfect league record, just missed qualifying for the state competition when they lost their final playoff match by two points.

The Pirates lost a close and hard-fought match at home last Thursday against Lynden Christian. It was a game where a win would have sent them straight to state. The gym was packed, and the team  appreciated the loud and energizing support.

The team had never played in front of such a large crowd, and it was memorable for all the girls, especially the seniors.

Then on Saturday the team traveled to the King’s School in Shoreline to play Annie Wright in a game where the winner would move on to the state tournament, the loser out.

The match could not have been any closer. After dropping the first game, Vashon stormed back and took games two and three. Game four went to Annie Wright, leaving each team’s post-season hanging on the outcome of a single game.

It was a neck-and-neck, nail-biting fight all they way to the end. After falling behind early in the game, the Pirates rallied and tied the game at 9, then tied again at 11, and then again at 13 before finally losing 13-15.

It was an amazing effort all the way around, and the coaches and parents said they were proud of the hard work and effort that the ladies put into the season.

— Cheryl Pruett is the mother of a Vashon volleyball player.