OAK HARBOR — Entering the final seven days of the season, Oak Harbor and Glacier Peak shared identical records and sat tied for second place in the Wesco 3A division.
The two teams played Thursday evening with something else besides second place on the line: a home playoff game for the first
round of districts.
Oak Harbor (8-2 league, 9-4 overall) played well from the outset, taking advantage of a number of Grizzlies errors and then held on for a five-set win by scores of 25-9, 25-18, 22-25, 18-25 and 15-10.
“We came out strong. Glacier Peak was making some errors and we capitalized on them in the early sets,” Oak Harbor head coach Kerri Molitor admitted. “Then they stopped making errors and started playing better offensively. They have a really good offense.”
The Wildcats got key contributions from junior hitter Roshel Muzzall who delivered 15 kills and four blocks as well as teammate Jenine DeGuzman who added 19 digs and 13 kills from her outside spot. Another junior, setter Taylor Nienhuis led Oak Harbor with 33 assists in the match.
Molitor, however, pointed to Amanda Pavey as the key component in her team’s five set victory. With her team being a notch below the Grizzlies offensively, its defense was key and nobody did a better job than Pavey.
“Amanda Pavey had 20 digs and that made a huge difference in how we were able to outlast in some long rallies,” Molitor said. “She had some key digs and played aggressive all the way through.”
For the Grizzlies, Mandy Burgess had a match-high 43 assists and junior Maddi Ober finished with 16 kills, three aces and two blocks. Ruby Mensing also chipped in 19 digs and 12 kills for Glacier Peak.
“It was a pretty important one for us,” said Molitor. “We have a fan base that has been growing and very dedicated in seeing us play. The girls have been aware of that and really wanted to play at home in front of them (during the playoffs).”
Thursday, they assured that they will.
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