PREP VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: Munoz’s block boosts Monroe

Published 11:37 pm Thursday, September 10, 2009

MONROE — Kendal Munoz stepped up for a crucial block at the net to send Monroe to a non-conference win over Marysville-Pilchuck Thursday night at Monroe.

Munoz’ match-winning block in the deciding fifth set gave the Bearcats an 18-25, 26-24, 25-18, 22-25, 15-13 win over the visiting Tomahawks.

“We had some young blood on the court and being early in the season, our connections weren’t as crisp,” Monroe head coach April Munoz said.

With the set tied at 13-13, Monroe (2-0 overall) benefited from a service ace prior to the winning block.

“She’s (Munoz) is a big impact on our team,” coach Munoz said of her sophomore setter.

Melina Seabrook, a freshman outside hitter, had 16 kills and “played some phenomenal defense also,” coach Munoz said.

Megan Burch, another outside hitter, added 13 kills and 14 digs for the Bearcats, who often played with just one senior on the floor.

“It’s going to be rocky for the first little while,” coach Munoz said of her young squad. “… It was a lot of unforced errors on our part, lots of ebbs and curves there.”

Riley Taitingfong had 35 assists and Mikayla La Rosa added 15 kills for Marysville-Pilchuck (1-1). Katie Peterson also had 26 digs for the Tomahawks.

“We knew they (M-P) would be a challenge; strong competition for us.” coach Munoz said.

Shorewood 3, Mariner 1: At Shoreline, Carolyn Stransky had 35 assists and 16 digs to lead Shorewood to a 25-23, 25-14, 23-25, 25-16 win in a non-conference match. Molly Whipple had 11 kills, Laura Postor had 25 digs and Hannah Stoeve had seven kills and 12 digs for Shorewood (1-1 overall). Nicole Leach had nine kills, Kristen Fowler had 23 assists and Katelyn Kelly had 32 digs for Mariner (0-2).

Stanwood 3, Arlington 1: At Arlington, Stanwood (1-1 overall) defeated Arlington (0-2) by scores of 26-24, 27-29, 25-17, 25-22. Sarah Titus had 16 digs and three aces, Kaci Jones had 24 kills and Taylor Carlson had 29 assists for Stanwood. Kirstin Wright had 32 digs, Kenzie Jorgenson had 15 kills and 10 blocks and Melissa Webb had 30 assists for Arlington.

Kamiak 3, Shorecrest 2: At Mukilteo, the Knights opened their season with a three-game non-league sweep (25-21, 25-18, 25-16) of the Scots (1-1 overall). Leading the way for Kamiak were sophomore Bryce Larson, who had 14 kills, senior Martha Muldowney (seven kills and seven aces), libero Sarah Cross (15 digs) and 5-foot, 10-inch sophomore Ally Bowles (20 assists). For Shorecrest, Marina Stoermer, Nicole Swenson and Brenna Lofquist each had five kills, Kelley Bayern had 10 digs and Casey Axelson had 15 assists.

Lake Stevens 3, Everett 1: At Lake Stevens, Ysabella Licciardi had 13 kills and Brooke Larsen had six digs to lead Lake Stevens (2-0 overall) to a 25-23, 25-20, 17-25, 25-17 non-conference win. Everett (0-2) was led by Molly Burton with nine kills and Emily Liger with 15 kills.

Lynnwood 3, Glacier Peak 0: At Snohomish, Laycee Hill had 14 assists and fellow Royal Jessica Barlow added 14 kills as Lynnwood (2-0) blanked Glacier Peak (0-1) 25-22, 25-21, 25-20 in a non-league clash. The Grizzlies’ Olivia VanDlac had six kills and two aces and Miranda Farrell added six kills and two blocks.

Jackson 3, Mountlake Terrace 1: At Mountlake Terrace, Jackson won a non-conference match 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 26-24. Christine Jenson had 24 assists, Stephanie McGrath had nine kills and Stephanie McGee had 11 digs for Mountlake Terrace (0-1 overall). For Jackson (1-0), Emmy Allen had 11 kills and one block; Kristin Stoffel had two aces and five digs; Christy Cain had 12 aces and six blocks; Haley MacDonald had two aces, 17 assists and two bloocks; Leigh-Ann Haataja had 12 kills, two blocks and six digs; Alicia Gabrielsen had three aces and 16 digs, and Malisa Marisigan had five digs.

Archbishop Murphy 3, Granite Falls 0: At Everett, Archbishop Murphy (1-0 league and overall) defeated Granite Falls (0-1, 0-1) by scores of 25-13, 25-14 and 25-11. Savannah Fletcher led the Wildcats with 12 kills and two aces. Becca Gotz also had eight kills and one ace, Stefani Bartz had two kills and one ace, Hannah Linsemayer had 29 digs and three aces and Dani Baehm had 24 assists and two aces for Archbishop Murphy.

South Whidbey 3, Lakewood 0: At Langley, Alisson Wood had 12 kills and 16 digs to lead South Whidbey to a 25-14, 25-12, 25-23 Cascade Conference win. Linden Firethorne had seven blocks, Cayla Calderwood had four kills, Kelsie Dorpat had 11 assists and Alissa Coupe had 10 assists for South Whidbey (1-0 league and overall). Lakewood’s record is now 0-1 in league and overall.

Cedarcrest 3, Sultan 2: At Duvall, Cedarcrest (1-0 league, 1-0 overall) defeated Sultan (0-1 league, 0-1 overall) by scores of 25-16, 23-25, 22-25, 25-14 and 15-9 in the Cascade Conference match. Dani Hinton had 13 kills and two aces and Lauren LaBrosse had nine kills and 10 assists for Cedarcrest.

Darrington 3, Seattle Lutheran 0: At Darrington, Caresse Baker and Hailey Wales each had nine kills and fellow Logger Kolby Fanning chipped in with 20 assists to lead Darrington (2-0 overall) to the 25-17, 25-16, 25-22 non-league win over the Saints.

Neah Bay 3, Highland Christian 0: At Arlington, Chaely Kanichy had six aces to lead the Red Devils to a 25-15, 25-18, 25-11 sweep of the Knights in non-league action. Esther Brown had six aces and seven kills while teammate Katrina Overgaard added six digs and four aces for Highland Christian (0-1).