SNOHOMISH — It’s not uncommon for volleyball coaches to talk about the importance of momentum and how important it is to seize it.
But what happens when neither team can maintain it?
The best answer might be what happened when Glacier Peak hosted Marysville Pilchuck in a Wesco 3A match on Thursday — a match the Grizzlies eventually won 3-1 by set scores of 21-25, 25-10, 27-25 and 25-15.
Marysville Pilchuck scored the final three points of a competitive first set to take a 1-0 lead and seemingly grab that all-important momentum.
It certainly didn’t last long.
The Grizzlies responded by running away with the second set 25-10 to tie the match at 1-1.
“We’ve had a little trouble with consistency and Pilchuck did a great job of taking advantage of us not being prepared,” Glacier Peak head coach Chris Pratt said. “I had confidence that we hadn’t shown up yet. I wasn’t sure if we were going to, so it was really good to see them respond in game two.”
If anything could get momentum on the Grizzlies’ side to stay, surely it was the 15-point win in game two. Only the Tomahawks had other plans. As quickly as Marysville Pilchuck found itself down 12-4 in the second set, it was up 12-4 in the third set.
That lead didn’t last long either.
It took nearly the entire third set, but Glacier Peak battled back to win 27-25 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
“We had to work even harder in game three to come back because they were in the lead for most of the game,” Pratt said. “That’s really hard to do. You’ve got to get like three points to every one of theirs to dig out of a hole like that.”
The third set was not without controversy. Marysville Pilchuck thought it took a 26-25 lead when Glacier Peak’s Rachael Gitness appeared to hit the ball long when attempting a kill, but one of the four officials said the ball was tipped and awarded the point to Glacier Peak.
“The refs play a huge role in the momentum of the game and I think we were at a huge disadvantage today,” Marysville Pilchuck head coach Brittany Fitzmaurice said. “That was a really poor time for the momentum to change when it’s that close. We had such a young team and they are such an emotional group that it’s really hard to make a comeback after that.”
For the first time in the match, momentum stuck in the fourth set. Glacier Peak dominated on its way to a 25-15 win that clinched the match and kept the Grizzlies (5-2 league, 7-2 overall) within shouting distance of the top of the Wesco 3A standings.
Junior Lauren Sanders led the way for the Grizzlies, finishing with 20 kills and 5½ blocks.
“The stats speak for themselves,” Pratt said. “Our game goes through her and everybody wants to show that they can handle her. Pilchuck dug a couple of her balls and she got blocked on a couple. I’m trying to get our team to understand that Lauren is going to show up all the time. What are we going to do to support her?”
The Tomahawks (3-4, 4-5) had nothing to hang their heads about. They did about as well as can be expected against Sanders.
“We definitely tried forcing her in the directions that we thought would make it more difficult for her,” Fitzmaurice said. “We have not played against a hitter like her all season and as long as I’ve been coaching I haven’t had to coach against a player like her. I think for myself and the girls, it was definitely a difficult defensive (challenge).”
Senior Natalie Rasmussen closed out the second set and the fourth set serving for the Grizzlies. She finished the match with four aces.
“We’re working on her toss,” Pratt said of Rasmussen. “She’s got a killer serve. I have to find a way to get her on the court. I’m finding that a lot of kids are competing for playing time and she’s doing a really good job of serving. Getting her in regularly to serve, if I don’t do that, I’ve got a weapon sitting on the bench.”
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.
At Glacier Peak H.S.
Marysville Pilchuck 25 10 25 15 – 1
Glacier Peak 21 25 27 25 – 3
Highlights–Marysville Pilchuck: Bailey Nelson 11 kills; Kyla Morrison 5 blocks; Lexi McClintock 15 digs. Glacier Peak: Natalie Rasmussen 4 aces, 11 digs; Mikala Pratt 27 assists, 15 digs; Cierra Pratt 4 aces; Kelly Wygant 15 digs; Lauren Sanders 20 kills, 5½ blocks; Paisley Johnson 9 kills. Records–Marysville Pilchuck 3-4 league, 4-5 overall. Glacier Peak 5-2, 7-2.
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