Lake Stevens volleyball cruises into district championship

Published 11:40 pm Thursday, November 13, 2025

LAKE STEVENS — Lake Stevens volleyball had little trouble taking a 2-0 lead against Mount Si in the District 1/2 4A semifinals at home on Thursday, but Mount Si would not go down without a fight.

After Lake Stevens scored the first two points of the third set, Mount Si scored five of the next eight to make it a 5-5 tie. It was a prime opportunity for a trailing team to build momentum, so Lake Stevens had a quick discussion in the huddle between points.

“We had a little chat about not letting go and keeping our foot on the gas,” senior Laura Eichert said. “Because we’ve done it in other games and they’ve taken that set from us, or we let it go a little bit, so just kind of refocusing and bringing energy.”

The No. 2 seed Vikings (19-0) scored the next four points, and after the No. 6 seed Wildcats (11-8) cut the score to 11-8, went on a 14-3 run to close out the 3-0 win (25-11, 25-13, 25-11) and advance to the District Championship against the No. 1 seed Skyline on Saturday.

Eichert led the attack with 22 kills, and senior Olivia Gonzales had 25 assists and five aces. Seniors Madison Sowers (five kills) and Kamryn Strom (five aces) each had two blocks, and sophomore Ella Iseminger chipped in seven kills, seven digs and three aces.

Not only is Lake Stevens undefeated, but the team has lost just one set so far this season (a 3-1 win against Arlington on Oct. 15). They came relatively close to dropping another set in the quarterfinals against Juanita on Nov. 8, winning the third set 25-20 after taking the first two 25-6 and 25-11, so rather than simply keeping their foot on the gas, the Vikings are gearing up for the state tournament with the mindset of flooring it.

“I feel like we’re just really good at keeping our intensity at full blast the whole game,” Gonzales said. “I feel like that’s been a really important value in our team, is just to give (our opponents) the respect of giving them our best. … We want to give them our best all the time.”

Lake Stevens pulled ahead from the 5-5 tie in the third set with a kill from Ella Iseminger followed by an ace from sophomore Audrey Iseminger and a couple of kills from Sowers. The Wildcats whittled the score to 11-8 coming out of a timeout, but the Vikings pushed back with six straight points to extend the lead to 17-8, thanks in large part to a couple of aces from Ella Iseminger and a block from Eichert.

Things played out similarly in the first set. After settling in with a 6-4 lead, Lake Stevens went on an eight-point run with everyone on the floor chipping in — kills from Eichert and Ella Iseminger, blocks from Strom and Sowers, and receives, digs and sets across the board to keep plays alive — before Eichert finished off the set with five kills and an ace.

“The girls just play for each other, really,” coach Kyle Hoglund said. “They play for each other and have fun together. They trust each other, and so it really shows off the court and on the court.”

The Vikings jumped out to an even more decisive lead in the second set, increasing the margin from 9-4 to 17-8 to 23-9, consistently hitting the ball into spots that were nearly impossible for Mount Si to receive, before settling for a 25-13 set win.

No matter how Thursday’s match played out, Lake Stevens had already secured its spot in the state tournament. Now the focus lies in earning some district hardware, improving their seeding for the state tournament and getting prepared to make a deep run. In addition to their physical training in practice, the players write down their goals and thoughts into ‘goal books’ before each game, and spend time visualizing matches ahead of time to aid in preparation.

“We’re always talking about volleyball,” Gonzales said. “We’ll goof off sometimes, but a lot of times, we’re very focused and we’re very intentional with all of our things that we do. … Our focus is on our side of the net and not really what’s going on on the other side. Otherwise we’ll get caught up in our mistakes, and from here on out, it’s always between the ears, so we’re just really focused on our mentality and staying positive throughout all of state and districts.”

After last year’s state run barely fell short in the semifinals — a 3-2 loss against the top seed Curtis, with a 17-15 loss in the fifth set — the Vikings are determined to end things differently this time around by focusing on one point at a time, finishing strong and maintaining a good mentality no matter the situation.

“We just all have common goals,” Eichert said. “We love the game so much. We have passion, and we want to win state so bad. For the program, for (Hoglund), so just having common goals and loving each other enough to be here, be where your feet are and be present.”