Mercer Island volleyball had championship aspirations when the team clinched a state berth last week at Juanita High School.
Days later, those hopes came crashing down.
Losing senior captain and KingCo MVP Jemma Yeadon to a knee injury days before the 3A state volleyball tournament led to an earlier than expected postseason exit for the Islanders. After winning their opener against Kamiakin 17-25, 25-11, 25-14, 25-16, the Islanders dropped their next two matches to walk away without a state trophy for the first time since 2011.
Yeadon suffered her knee injury during practice the Tuesday before the state tournament and had since been on crutches. It was a cruel twist, both for a team ready to make its final push, and for a player who hadn’t missed much time in her four years playing varsity.
Mercer Island coach Susan Rindlaub said the combination of losing a team leader and having to change game plans right before the tournament proved to be a tall order for her players, especially for a group that suddenly became younger in Yeadon’s absence.
“They responded as best as they could,” Rindlaub said in a phone conversation with Reporter. “They were determined and were hopeful, but they loved Jemma as a teammate and it was really hard for them to not have her in there.”
Scoring a win over the hometown Braves was no small task. After dropping the first set of their tournament opener Friday night at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Mercer Island swept the next three to move on. In the quarterfinals, Shorewood bested the Islanders in a competitive four-set match 25-18, 24-26, 25-19, 25-21. The Thunderbirds would go on to place fourth at the tournament.
In Saturday morning’s elimination match, Mercer Island once again found themselves opposite Lakeside, who they fell to in the district tournament. The Lions swept the Islanders 25-14, 25-19, 28-26 and would go on to place sixth. Kennedy Catholic won the 3A tournament, overcoming Columbia River in the finals 27-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-20.
Though shorthanded, Rindlaub said she was encouraged by the fight her younger players displayed in their three matches.
“It was great to see sophomores stepping up and taking on leadership roles,” she said. “Just the enthusiasm for each other and for the team because honestly, they could’ve just given up, but they didn’t do that. They really fought and that win against Kamiakin was huge. They played really tough against Shorewood and Lakeside, that was really impressive to me.”
Rindlaub said there was definitely a lingering hope Yeadon would play, but not at the risk of injuring herself more. The Mercer Island coach hoped to sub Yeadon in at the end of the last match to pay respect to her career. But with the Islanders going down to the wire with Lakeside in a hard-fought 28-26 final set, it wasn’t destined to happen.
Seeing such grit from her team served as a reminder of what could’ve been in the Islanders’ last ride with their all-league outside hitter.
“In years past, there have been times when we’ve been frustrated that we didn’t play as well as we hoped or there was a tough bracket and we had a tough draw. This year was just sad because this team worked so hard and, it’s not that anyone deserves anything, but if any team deserved a chance to get back to the state finals, this team did with Jemma,” Rindlaub said. “She’s been a team leader and worked so hard in this program and basically played every minute of every match since she was a freshman. To have her unable to play state her senior year is just sad.”
Though the season didn’t end the way they had hoped, Rindlaub said she was proud to see her team never give up and fight all the way to the end.
“They came into state with the best attitude, all things considered,” she said. “They played their hearts out, were positive and stepped up to fill in for someone like Jemma. And not just fill in; they played really well against some of the best teams in the state.”
Mercer Island finished its season with a league record of 11-1 and were 20-5 overall.
