Odessa girls sixth at state

YAKIMA – The Odessa Tigers came into the WIAA 1B State Tournament as the No. 12-seed and minimal expectations.

That made it all the more surprising when the Tigers finished in sixth-place in the tournament and were just a few-point-swing away from potentially finishing fifth.

Odessa ended up in the fifth-place bracket after beating No. 5-seed Liberty Christian 3-2 on Nov. 10 before losing 3-0 to eventual semi-finalist Naselle, also on Nov. 10.

Odessa continued to put on the upsets – this time beating No. 9-seed Wilbur-Creston-Keller on Nov. 11, advancing to the 1B fifth/sixth place game as a result.

"(I told them) to just play with all their heart," Odessa coach Suzie Deife said. "And make sure that we go into it all in all the time. And that's exactly what they did. They fought hard until the very end and that's all I can ask from my girls right there."

Odessa ended up losing to Northport in the fifth/sixth place game 3-1, but were able to make the final set competitive after being down 2-0 and winning the third set to cut into the set lead.

Despite the final result, the smiles and positive reactions on the Tigers' players faces wouldn't have clued someone into the fact that they just lost a state tournament game.

"They were (having fun)," Deife said. "That is just the way they are. They've been like that. They've been playing together for a long time so it's really nice to see them come together and do that. And that's how it was all season long... and I think that's what brought them (to the state tournament.)"

Despite not winning the final match of the tournament for Odessa, the Tigers will be returning home with smiles, memories and a trophy.