Beat it: Marysville-Pilchuck finally defeats Snohomish
Published 11:20 pm Tuesday, September 8, 2009
MARYSVILLE — The music that pumped through Jim Linden Fieldhouse during warmups was all Michael Jackson songs, including the late King of Pop’s monster hit “Thriller.”
And by the end of the night, the Marysville-Pilchuck Tomahawks certainly thrilled their fans.
After stumbling in the opening game, the Marysville-Pilchuck High School volleyball team spiked the Snohomish Panthers 3-1 Tuesday in a season-opening match. Seniors Cali Cull (11 kills) and Mikayla LaRosa (10 kills) propelled the Tomahawks, who won by game scores of 15-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-21.
The 5-foot-8 Cull, a gifted leaper, sparkled in her debut at the middle blocker position. Last season she was a right-side hitter.
“I didn’t really expect her to play that well the first game. I kind of thought it would be a learning process for her,” Marysville-Pilchuck coach Shelly Johnson said.
Cull turned it on in games three and four, elevating at the net and blasting the ball onto the floor like a jackhammer. Her final kill gave M-P a 23-20 cushion in game four, minutes after resilient Snohomish rallied to a 19-19 tie after it trailed 17-11. Fittingly, Cull served on the eventual match-clinching point.
M-P’s other leaders were Riley Taitingfong (30 assists), Alisha Oden (six kills) and Katie Peterson (21 digs).
Even though the match didn’t count in the Western Conference North Division standings — those contests begin Oct. 1 — the win felt great to the Tomahawks, who were 0-2 against Snohomish in the 2008 regular season.
“Sweet redemption,” said Cull.
Snohomish’s standouts were Megan Rice (nine kills), Cierra Short (eight kills, three digs) and Karla Nelson (18 assists, five digs). M-P had trouble stopping Rice, a junior, and Short, a sophomore, in game one.
Snohomish and M-P are expected to contend in the Wesco North this fall, but Tuesday’s match was more of a teaser than a definitive statement.
“It’s definitely a warmup and a preview of what’s to come for both teams,” M-P’s Cull said. “We’re rivals and that kind of plays into (it): ‘Oh, we’re going to see you again.’”
The rematch (Oct. 26 at Snohomish High) will be a crucial late-season league clash. It is their second-to-last North contest.
Snohomish coach Kris Jones learned a lot about her squad, which is much different than the 2008 group that placed second behind three-time defending North champ Monroe. Seven of Snohomish’s 14 players made their varsity team debut on Tuesday.
“Our whole goal for the evening was getting everybody out there,” Jones said. “We have a young team. I wanted to see what people did under pressure. They were really nervous.”
Even so, Snohomish nearly forced a fifth game. The Panthers made too many mistakes though.
“I felt like we came back from some pretty deep deficits and tied it up and made (M-P) work for it,” Jones said. “But it did come down to errors and I think (M-P) made a lot less errors than us.”
Following a shaky first game, M-P was a different team — a poised, efficient machine. It started with some uplifting chatter.
“We’re always working on our confidence and building each other up,” Cull said, “and I think that was a big thing that we needed to reassure each other — that we can do it.”
“We just meshed,” she added, “and everybody knew their jobs and trusted each other.”
M-P’s next challenge is a big one. The Tomahawks, who placed third in the North last year, play at Monroe on Thursday. The Bearcats no longer have All-American hitter Kylin Munoz — she’s at the University of Washington now — but they return a lot of talent and are No. 9 in Class 4A in the Washington State Coaches Association preseason rankings.
Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.
