Aloha! E-W hands Kamiak first loss
Published 11:29 pm Tuesday, October 14, 2008
EDMONDS — It was already a festive atmosphere for fans of the Edmonds-Woodway volleyball team. Then the Warriors cranked the party up several notches by pulling off an upset.
Cheered on by students wearing leis and bright floral shirts in honor of its annual Hawaiian Night, Edmonds-Woodway used stellar defense and a slew of tall, hard-swinging hitters to topple the previously unbeaten Kamiak Knights Tuesday in a Western Conference South Division match.
Unranked Edmonds-Woodway won the first two games and ultimately prevailed on its home court with game scores of 25-23, 25-12, 21-25, 25-16. E-W (3-0 in division, 6-2 overall) is the first squad to beat Kamiak (2-1, 7-1) this fall. The Knights are ranked No. 4 in the Class 4A state coaches’ poll.
Setter Leigh Fishback (44 assists, five kills, two block assists), outside hitter Cailin Fellows (15 kills, 10 digs) and libero Alex Storino (22 digs) helped launch E-W to a rare victory over Kamiak. The Warriors hadn’t won a match in the series since at least 2004, E-W head coach Mike Pittis said.
“The big difference was playing defense. We’ve been working really hard at it,” said Pittis.
E-W struggled defensively Sept. 25 in a 3-1 non-league loss against seventh-ranked Monroe, Pittis said. But Pittis’s squad put it all together against Kamiak in a match that could play a huge role in determining the Wesco South champion. E-W and Mountlake Terrace (3-0, 5-3) are tied for first place.
“Kamiak’s always been one of our rivals,” Storino said, “because they’ve been really strong. We always just wanted to beat them and we finally did it this year.”
Middle blocker Bailey Jones (nine kills, seven blocks) and libero Jessica Ramos (23 digs) led Kamiak, which played well in game three. Jazmyne Dodd’s powerful kill on an assist from Kalehua AhNee ended the game and spoiled E-W’s chance for a sweep.
But in game four E-W zipped to a 5-0 lead and never lost its edge. The Warriors got several authoritative kills from Haley Scott and Fellows along the way. All night Scott (10 kills, 16 digs) and Hannah Lauber (13 kills, three block kills) complemented the high-flying Fellows, who has given an oral commitment to Boise State University.
“They’re a great team — huge hitters,” Kamiak head coach Natalie Bowie said.
The back-and-forth first game featured 13 lead changes. There were many long rallies, and great defensive saves by both sides got the crowd gasping. Kamiak led 23-22 but E-W finished with three consecutive points to win.
E-W used scoring runs of 7-0 and 5-0 to dominate the second game. Fellows had kills on the final two points. Her teammate Marissa Wellington had back-to-back aces during a key spurt late in the game that got E-W to 22-11.
In the third game E-W surged to a 5-0 advantage but Kamiak responded with its best stuff, generating a 10-0 scoring burst. Kamiak eventually led by as many as seven points (13-6) but E-W kept it close down the stretch. Katy Olson’s stuff block got the Warriors to within a point (22-21) before Kamiak tallied the final three points and forced a fourth game, avoiding a sweep.
Kamiak made far too many unforced errors and had trouble sneaking hits past E-W’s defense, coach Bowie said.
“Their defense was good. They played defense at ease,” said Bowie. “It looked like they weren’t even trying. It makes our offense have to work a lot harder.”
Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.
