Statement made: Seven-seed Graham-Kapowsin rolls to 4A state volleyball title

An “overload of emotions” blanketed two-time TNT All-Area Player of the Year Hailey Brockway as a 24-22 match point at the Yakima Valley SunDome on Saturday proved to be the last.

Graham-Kapowsin, ranked seventh in the 4A bracket, had completed the improbable: a run to glory as an underdog. In two Saturday contests, Brockway and the Eagles upset a pair of top-four seeds – first in the semifinals over No. 3 Mount Rainier and later over No. 4 Lake Stevens for the state title.

The all-important 25th point crowned Graham-Kapowsin champions. Head coach Loni Parks described the moment as “breathtaking” when her team jumped for joy center-court, in possession of the trophy.

“I was crying,” Brockway told The News Tribune. “I mean, it’s the most amazing feeling ever. I can’t even explain it.”

One of the South Sound’s best players with 6.3 kills per set in her senior season, Brockway helped Graham-Kapowsin to a third-place state finish as a freshman in 2019. The coronavirus pandemic wiped away state competition in 2020, and the Eagles took third again in 2021, Brockway’s junior season.

“It was our goal to break through that glass ceiling,” Parks said. “We weren’t taking third again. That’s for sure.

“I said, ‘if we get to that semifinal, there’s nothing stopping them.’”

Graham-Kapowsin took the identity of an under-the-radar contender, quietly slipping through the opening round over No. 10 Gonzaga Prep via three-set sweep on Friday. Then came a 3-1 victory over 4A SPSL-rival No. 15 Olympia in the state quarterfinals.

“We have the talent,” Parks said. “Now that we’re in seventh, the pressure’s off. Let’s just go. Let’s just win. Let’s just play.”

The Eagles silenced No. 3 Mount Rainier in three sets, though the Rams forced a 26th point in the latter two.

Then came the title-match sweep over Lake Stevens. Graham-Kapowsin lost only a single set all weekend.

League-rival Puyallup, the bracket’s one-seed, swept No. 3 Mount Rainier in Saturday’s third-place match.

“This group is a family, Parks said. “They had a goal at the beginning of the year to win state.

“And it came true.”