PREP VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: South Whidbey closes in on playoff spot

Published 11:13 am Wednesday, October 7, 2009

MARYSVILLE — The big three of Allison Wood, Linden Firethorne, and Katie Holt put South Whidbey’s foot in the door for a chance at the playoffs, defeating Lakewood 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-19, 25-16) in a Cascade Conference volleyball match Tuesday at Lakewood High School.

With the win, South Whidbey holds the second 2A position to make the District 1 playoffs.

The strong upfront attack of Wood (17 kills, 14 digs), Firethorne (12 kills) and Holt (nine kills), along with Kelsey Dorpat’s 35 assists, helped South Whidbey beat Lakewood for the second time this season.

“Those three girls (Wood, Firethorne, and Holt) just put the ball away so strong,” Lakewood coach Tasha Karyger said. “They (South Whidbey) are a much improved team. We knew Allison was a good hitter, and we did all we could to keep her away from the ball, but it was not enough to slow her down.”

Lakewood was led by Samantha Adams’ 24 assists, Hayley Liebel’s 10 kills, and Allie Hernandez’s 12 digs.

Archbishop Murphy 3, Granite Falls 0: At Granite Falls, Archbishop Murphy (7-1 league, 7-1 overall) defeated Granite Falls (2-6, 2-6) in the Cascade Conference match by scores of 25-12, 25-5 and 25-15. Rachel Peterson had six kills and four aces, Becca Gotz had seven kills and six aces and Savannah Fletcher had seven kills, eight blocks and three aces for Archbishop Murphy. Monesa Moore had six kills for Granite Falls.

King’s 3, Coupeville 0: At Shoreline, Dionna Kirton had 15 kills and Anna Cesari had 22 assists, 12 digs and four aces to lead King’s (8-0 league and overall) to the 25-19, 25-19, 25-21 Cascade Conference win. Julie Swankie had 11 assists and Kaylie Kellison had four assists for Coupeville (5-3, 6-3).

Cedarcrest 3, Sultan 0: At Sultan, Cedarcrest swept the Cascade Conference game in straight sets, 25-18, 26-24, 26-24 to improve to 2-6 in league and overall on the season. Sultan fell to 0-8, 0-8.

Marysville-Pilchuck 3, Arlington 0: At Arlington, Marysville-Pilchuck shut out Arlington 25-13, 25-20, 25-23 in the Wesco North contest with the help of Riley Taitingfong’s 28 assists, Mikayla Larosa’s 12 kills, Alisha Oden’s 11 kills, Makiya Nelson’s 11 aces and Katie Peterson’s 13 digs. M-P is now 2-0 in league, 5-3 overall. Arlington (0-2, 2-6) was led by Megan Abdo’s 15 assists.

Everett 3, Stanwood 2: At Stanwood, Emily Liger was a force for Everett with 24 kills and 14 digs, leading the Seagulls (2-0 league, 5-2 overall) to a 25-20, 15-25, 21-25, 25-18, 16-14 Wesco North win. Stanwood sophomore Kaci Jones led the Spartans with 10 kills and 19 assists. Stanwood dropped to 0-1, 4-3.

Monroe 3, Cascade 1: At Everett, Monroe remained unbeaten in Wesco North play and left Cascade still looking for its first victory of the season. The Bearcats (2-0 league, 7-1 overall) triumphed in four games 25-18, 25-22, 19-25, 25-16. Megan Birch led the attack with 15 kills. Melina Seabrook chipped in 13 kills and 11 digs, while Kendal Munoz contributed 31 assists. Danielle Love paced the Bruins (0-2, 0-7) with five blocks and four kills and teammate Kaitie Brush notched six kills and three blocks.

Lake Stevens 3, Oak Harbor 0: At Oak Harbor, Lake Stevens earned its first Wesco North win of the year, taking out Oak Harbor (0-2 league, 2-5 overall) in straight sets. Lake Stevens (1-1, 4-4) was paced by Miranda Shultz, who tallied 10 kills. Marisa Sutherland had a game-high 11 kills in the losing effort and Kelsey Terrazas-Cooley added 32 digs for the Wildcats.

La Conner 3, Shoreline 0: At Shoreline, La Conner (4-0 league, 5-1 overall) notched a 25-17, 25-21, 25-9 victory to maintain its place atop the Northwest 1A/2B League. Anne Marie Visser led Shoreline Christian with 20 digs, 12 assists and six kills. Laura Kredit tallied six kills and Maria Anderson added 16 digs for Shoreline Christian (5-1 league, 6-1 overall).

Darrington 3, Mount Vernon Christian 1: At Mt. Vernon, Caresse Baker had 13 kills, nine digs and six aces to lead Darrington to the 25-6, 22-25, 25-18, 25-20 Northwest 1A/2B win. Hailey Wales had 12 kills, 14 digs and six blocks and her sister, Randi Wales, added eight kills and 10 digs for the Loggers (5-1 league, 7-1 overall). With the loss, Mount Vernon Christian fell to 2-2, 3-3.

North Sound Christian 3, Lummi 1: At Mountlake Terrace, North Sound Christian remained unbeaten in Northwest 1B League play, dispatching Lummi 25-16, 26-28, 25-11, 25-16. Bethany Speck blasted eight aces for the Lions, who also got 19 kills from Chantelle Meeks. North Sound Christian’s (6-0 league, 7-2 overall) Elisabeth Tissell recorded 13 kills and six aces to go with six digs. Lummi dropped to 2-5 league, 2-5 overall.

Grace Academy 3, Highland Christian 0: At Arlington, Grace Academy won 25-21, 25-21, 25-22, for its second win of the season. Grace’s Loveleen Kaler had six aces, Katie Mittlestaedt had four kills and three aces, and Nieka Moss had four kills. Esther Brown had eight kills and Jackie Riemer had 10 digs for Highland Christian. Highland is now 0-6 league, 0-7 overall. Grace Academy improved to 2-4 in Northwest 1B action, 2-8 overall.