EDMONDS — Just like a clutch shooter in basketball or a big-play wide receiver in football, great volleyball players want the ball when it matters most.
There is no doubt that Glacier Peak junior middle blocker Lauren Sanders is great and on Tuesday she came up big every time her team needed it in a 3-1 Wesco 3A win over Edmonds-Woodway. Set scores were 28-26, 20-25, 25-21 and 25-21.
Sanders finished the match with 23 kills, 11 digs, six blocks and two aces to lead the Grizzlies, who bounced back from their first loss of the season last Wednesday against Lynnwood with a win to improve to 3-1 in league play and 5-1 for the season.
“She wants the ball,” Glacier Peak head coach Chris Pratt said of Sanders. “She wants to improve. She’s been looked at by colleges because of her blocking, but she hasn’t really been known for her attack. We’re really emphasizing that in practice trying to give her some confidence and trying to get the team to sometimes force it to her a little bit, but at the same time we have to start working on balancing our attack out. We can’t rely on Lauren to carry us every night.”
That’s a problem for the future. Sanders did a fine job of leading the Grizzlies’ offense on Tuesday. Sanders closed out two of Glacier Peak’s three set wins with a kill.
“She’s one of our most consistent players,” Pratt said. “Edmonds-Woodway was doing a great job of taking advantage of her in the first two games and I kept telling her, ‘Lauren, they’re a good hitting team. You’ve got to wait a little longer on the block.’ She finally started figuring that out and you saw a difference in games three and four. I wouldn’t be surprised if she got a majority of those (blocks) towards the end of the match.”
At 6-foot-5, it isn’t hard to figure out why Sanders is known for her block. Her presence is imposing at the net.
“She’s a great player,” Edmonds-Woodway head coach Nicole Bordeaux said. “I think our focus wasn’t about her being 6-5, it was just about her being a great player. She’s got a great block obviously. We just have to do what we can. We can’t focus on just her. The rest of their players were key components too and defensively they did a great job.”
Glacier Peak trailed 21-17 late in the first set, but rallied to win. Edmonds-Woodway bounced back to take the second set only to have the Grizzlies win sets three and four to take the match.
“If you watch enough volleyball, game one is a good one to get off the snide and game three is a big one too,” Pratt said. “Fortunately, we were able to get both of those.”
Setting up many of Sanders 23 kills was setter Mikala Pratt, who is the daughter of coach Pratt. The senior finished with 23 assists, which made for a happy coach and father after seeing her battle injuries for the past nine months.
“She’s trying to get her game back and I’m proud of her,” Chris Pratt said. “It’s certainly fun to coach your daughter.”
Edmonds-Woodway fell to 1-2 in league play and 2-3 overall with the loss, but Bordeaux was encouraged with the way her team played.
“I think we played great overall,” Bordeaux said. “We played well defensively. We’ve been working a lot on our blocking and I thought we did a much better job blocking. They’re a good team and they are scrappy. Obviously they are a good offensive team, but I think for us we really worked on the little things. We finally kind of pushed through tonight and did a good job, so we’re happy and we’re walking out of here with our heads held high.”
At Edmonds-Woodway H.S.
Glacier Peak 28 20 25 25 — 3
Ed.-Woodway 26 25 21 21 — 1
Glacier Peak—Mikala Pratt 23 assists; Lauren Sanders 2 aces, 23 kills, six blocks, 11 digs; Natalie Rasmussen 11 digs. Edmonds-Woodway—Sandra Yang 13 kills; Kendra Cooper 8 kills; Sam Hardan 21 digs; Amanda Paavola 13 kills, 7 digs, 2 aces; Kelly Gootee 49 assists, 2 blocks, 3 digs, 1 kill, 1 ace; Missy Peterson 12 kills. Records–Glacier Peak 3-1 league, 5-1 overall. Edmonds-Woodway 1-2, 2-3.
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