LACEY — The Jackson volleyball team closed out the season with a win, just not in the game they expected.
After getting swept by eventual state champion Bellarmine Prep in the 4A state semifinals, the Timberwolves downed Olympia in four sets to finish third. It was a disappointing finish for a team that had state title aspirations.
“(The team) was pretty upset, pretty down,” said Jackson head coach Ashley Allen about the loss. “They took time to grieve, but the girls didn’t want to go out on loss. We just reset our goal to finish third.”
Shaking off their first best-of-five loss this season, the Timberwolves rebounded to win the first two sets 28-26, 25-21. After Olympia took the third, the Timberwolves closed out the match 25-22.
In contrast, Jackson did not get off to a good start against Bellarmine Prep and couldn’t recover. The Timberwolves lost the first set 25-21 and could only muster 14 and 17 points in the final two games.
Emmy Allen had 12 kills and Haley MacDonald tallied 23 assists to lead the Jackson offense, but the T-wolves couldn’t overcome a dominant performance by Bellarmine Prep outside hitter Courtney Schwan. Schwan, a University of Washington commit, recorded 17 kills, 10 digs and 10 aces.
“She played pretty well,” said Allen, adding, “They ran their offense quickly and we couldn’t get up a block fast enough.”
Overall, Allen believed her team accomplished a lot this season, but the final result was still a little hollow.
“We played pretty well overall,” reflected Allen. “We hit many of our goals this season, but for the girls (who were apart of the 2010 state championship), it’s hard to take anything less than a state title.”
Bellarmine Prep 3, Jackson 0
At Saint Martin’s University
Jackson211417—0
Bellarmine Prep252525—3
Highlights—Jackson: Emmy Allen 12 kills; Miah Diirell five kills, three aces; Haley MacDonald 23 assists. Bellarmine Prep: Courtney Schwan 17 kills, 10 digs, 10 aces; Katy DeGroot 30 assists; Kelsey May 11 digs. Records—Jackson 16-1 overall.
Jackson 3, Olympia 1
At Saint Martin’s University
Jackson28252025—3
Olympia26212522—1
Records—Jackson 17-1 overall.
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