EVERETT — A subtle lineup adjustment by Archbishop Murphy head coach Jeff Curtis allowed the Wildcats to survive a first set thumping and prevail with a victory against South Whidbey by scores of 14-25, 25-15, 25-19 and 25-14.
In a critical mid-season matchup between the second and third pl
ace Cascade Conference squads, Curtis switched to a modified 4-1-1 lineup Thursday night, giving Alex Flake a chance to hit while thrusting young setter Tory Popp into a key spot. Flake finished with 28 assists, five kills and five aces while Popp had 14 assists and eight digs. Also, Hannah Linsenmayer led the Wildcats (6-1 league, 6-1 overall) with 35 digs and five aces.
“It was a good match tonight. We got our (butts) kicked in the first game,” Curtis said. “They came out playing a little better than we did and then we made some adjustments and started playing better in the rest of the match.”
All-conference outside hitter Linden Firethorne had 17 kills and seven aces in the loss for South Whidbey which fell to 5-2, 5-2.
“Firethorne (was) everything she’s expected to be,” added Curtis. “She’s a good kid.”
Despite Firethorne’s excellence, the Falcons were overwhelmed in the final three sets as Archbishop Murphy was able to secure second place behind King’s (7-0, 7-0) entering October.
“The first half’s over,” Curtis said. “Now we come back around with everybody (like in baseball) and have a knowledge of each other … October’s going to be a a good month for the entire conference.”
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