LAKE STEVENS — It was the type of matchup that the Lake Stevens High School volleyball team, the fourth-ranked program in the state, expected to encounter for a District 1/2 4A semifinals contest, but it definitely wasn’t going to be a three-set sweep like most of their matches this season.
After blanking seventh-seeded Mount Si on Saturday, the second-seeded Vikings (16-3 overall) came out Thursday on their home court and downed third-seeded Eastlake 3-1 after completing third- and fourth-set comebacks to mark their 10th-consecutive win and punch their ticket to an eighth-straight district title game. Set scores were 25-17, 23-25, 26-24 27-25.
Lake Stevens junior outside hitter Laura Eichert charted 30 kills and 13 digs, junior setter Olivia Gonzales recorded 55 assists and 13 digs, freshman defensive setters Audrey and Ella Iseminger combined for 37 digs and middle hitters senior Claire Mackintosh and junior Kamryn Strom combined for nine kills and five blocks.
Lake Stevens players and head coach Kyle Hoglund celebrate a point during the 4A district semifinal game on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
“‘Never give up. Keep fighting.’” said Vikings coach Kyle Hoglund about what he told his team when they trailed in the final two sets. “I’m really impressed with how they played, and how they just kept sustaining themselves and keep pushing through. We made some unfortunate errors, and they recovered and played. And I can’t be more proud of them and what they did. It all goes to them.
“Eastlake played pretty error-free volleyball, especially in that second, third set,” he continued. “That’s something that you don’t see a lot of all the time, (and) it’s good for us to have to push through that.”
Eastlake stayed within reach of Lake Stevens throughout the first set until the Vikings scored eight straight after being tied 17-17. Strom and Eichert took turns with tips and kills while senior outside hitter Jayci Scrivens finished with three-consecutive unreturnable serves.
Lake Stevens played catch-up for the entire second set as the Wolves got out to a 9-4 lead and maintained a three to five point advantage until the Vikings came to within one point at 23-22 and again at 24-23 but couldn’t finish it.
Lake Stevens’ Laura Eichert reaches out with arm arm to try and keep the ball in bounds during the 4A district semifinal game on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Eastlake got out to a 5-0 lead in the third set and led by as much as nine points at 17-8, but Lake Stevens went on five- and six-consecutive point breakaways to tie it 18-18 before Scrivens scored the go-ahead point to make it 19-18. One of Eichert’s kills helped keep the Vikings alive facing a 24-23 set point before earning another score to take a 25-24 lead and having Strom serve to win the set.
Lake Stevens trailed 3-0 to begin the fourth set and didn’t take the lead until Eichert scored back-to-back points to make it 24-23. Both teams exchanged points until Eichert rocketed a kill for a 26-25 advantage, and Scrivens put the game to rest with a match-point kill.
Lake Stevens’ Jayci Scrivens hits the ball over the net during the 4A district semifinal game on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
“When you play teams as good as Eastlake, you (could) start to get down on yourself,” said Scrivens, whose team also beat the Wolves 3-1 in a non-conference game at the beginning of the season. “But we just really talked about having a positive mindset and believing in ourselves and trusting our teammates.
“They have an outstanding libero, and they have really good defense,” she continued. “The entire match, our coaches were telling us ‘push deep corners, push deep corners,’ and I feel like from the sets that we excelled is when we pushed deep corners and listened to our coaches. … Even though sometimes we didn’t start strong, we always fought back. And I think that tells a lot about our team and how we’re able to bounce back even if we’re down so many points.”
Lake Stevens players celebrate to beating Eastlake in the 4A district semifinal game to advance to the final on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
For the past three seasons, the Vikings have had chances to lift a district trophy, but district championship losses to Bothell in 2021 and North Creek in 2022 and 2023 have denied those opportunities. However, Lake Stevens can secure its first district title since 2019 with a victory against fourth-seeded Issaquah at Lake Washington High School at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
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