Each of the past three volleyball seasons, Newport has finished its season at the 4A state tournament.

Friday at Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, the Knights will try to go one step further.

Newport finished the 4A KingCo tournament with a comeback effort, winning the final three games against Skyline to take the top seed from the conference to the 4A state volleyball tournament and keep its record against conference foes unblemished on the year.

The 17-1 Knights, which lost their only match of the year to Kentwood in early September, had recorded five consecutive sweeps before the second round of the league tournament in a 3-1 win over Bothell.

“We had some of our toughest competition early on,” standout senior Casey Schoenlein said earlier in the season. “Having that behind us helped us grow this confidence.”

The physically imposing leader for Newport recorded 29 kills in the championship match, aided by 46 assists from India Gants and 17 kills from Anna Crabtree. Head coach Steve Trachy said the key for his team throughout the year has been cohesion and confidence, two traits he said have been vastly improved from previous years.

“I think having that pressure of our league tournament and going to state will help this group,” Trachy said, noting the team’s past experiences at Saint Martin’s against the best Class 4A has to offer.

Emerald Ridge enters the match at state with four straight wins, its last setback coming to the same Kentwood team that beat Newport.

The Knights open the tournament at 9:45 a.m. on Court 2 at Saint Martin’s, and will face either Mount Vernon or Central Valley in the second round.