Everett volleyball sweeps Edmonds-Woodway, one win away from State

EDMONDS — Everett volleyball has been in close matches all season.

The No. 6 Seagulls (12-6) came into Tuesday’s district quarterfinal action at No. 3 Edmonds-Woodway (12-6) having played four three-set matches on the season. Those three-set matches cost Everett half of their season losses, and made stringing together set wins a priority for head coach Heather Turner.

It’s safe to say that emphasis paid dividends on Tuesday, as the Seagulls swept the Warriors 25-21, 25-23, 25-17 to move on to the district semifinal on Thursday against No. 2 Ferndale. A win there would send Everett to State for the first time since 2009.

”It’s been super draining,” Everett junior outside hitter Ava Gonzalez said of the long matches. “To come in here and win against this team … in three sets, it’s just so much for our confidence.”

Everett’s stars in Gonzalez (19 kills, 14 digs, six aces) and Ava Urbanozo (38 assists, 12 digs) did not disappoint. The tandem helped execute Turner’s plan to attack the boundaries, as Urbanozo set up Gonzalez, senior Lauren Desimone (11 kills) and others for plenty of tough shots.

Of course, it’s one thing to plan to hit difficult shots and another to plan to hit difficult shots. The Seagulls spent time on Monday drilling those moments after their 3-0 Nov. 6 play-in win over No. 11 Oak Harbor, a session Gonzalez called crucial in getting the team ready.

The Seagulls were the aggressors in the early going, rattling off an 11-2 run to lead 13-6 in the first set. But timely kills from Edmonds-Woodway junior Sawyer Hiatt (seven kills), solid blocks from senior outside hitter Indira Carey-Boxley (14 kills) and crucial digs from senior libero Addy Pontak (15 digs) got the Warriors back into the set at 21-18. Turner was forced to call timeout to recompose her team ahead of the set’s decisive moments.

From there, two faults from Edmonds-Woodway and a kill from Gonzalez through a block attempt were enough to push Everett to a first-set win.

The second set was far closer throughout, as the teams traded kills from the scoreline reading 3-3 to 11-11. The Warriors started to find some daylight after winning a rally that lasted well over 30 seconds, taking a 14-11 lead. It was the kind of point that can change a game, as the Seagulls survived two blocks from the Warriors, only to lose the point.

Turner called a timeout.

“We talked about just getting a high pass of the net so we were able to run offense,” Turner said. “And to get the energy back on our side, because we started to feel the energy shift to that side.”

With that refusal to let the momentum shift completely, the Seagulls found a 4-0 run and a 21-19 lead late in the set thanks to some tough shots — including a sneaky tipped shot over the net by Urbanozo, who made like she was going up for her usual set.

In a crucial 23-23 point, the Seagulls stuck to their game plan by keeping a shot just inside the sideline to go ahead and finish the set on the next point.

Ahead 2-0 on the road, Everett showed it had saved its best for last. After going down 3-1, Desimone and Gonzalez hit more deep shots to Edmonds-Woodway’s backline and sideline to go on a 7-1 run.

With a 3-0 win over No. 3 Edmonds-Woodway, No. 6 Everett volleyball is one win away from State — somewhere the Seagulls haven’t been in 16 years.

District semis to come, Everett needs to win 1 of 2 while E-W needs 2 straight.@HeraldNetPreps pic.twitter.com/KQdPFMTLKj

— Qasim Ali (@qasimasports) November 12, 2025

Gonzalez pounced on the opportunity to finish the contest in three sets, nailing two of her six aces in a row and finishing the game’s final kill through a block.

For the Warriors, it was a tough day in early-point execution. Edmonds-Woodway had eight service errors to nine aces, while Desimone, Gonzalez and Urbanozo combined for nine aces alone.

“We were just uncharacteristically not good in service-receive, really kind of our calling card,” Warriors head coach Bart Foley said. “We’ll look at the film, and I think we’re going to see pretty quickly that that’s not who we’ve been all season long.”

Foley’s squad will find themselves in a similar position to last year’s districts, needing two straight wins to move on to State for the first time since 2014.

While his team didn’t have the game it wanted to open its playoff run, Foley acknowledged how bad his team wants to take the program back to the big stage. The Warriors came up one consolation game short of what they needed to qualify for State last season.

“This team set this objective at the beginning of the season … they asked for playing in pressure matches like this, I think just learning from it and flushing that last plan and moving onto the next is going to be key,” Foley said.

Edmonds-Woodway will take on No. 10 Mount Vernon on Thursday, needing two wins in three days to move on. The Seagulls will need to win one of their next two to advance for the first time in 16 years, when Turner herself played for the team.

“It’ll be full circle for me as a coach to bring them back, and we’re hoping to secure that on Thursday,” Turner said.