LYNNWOOD — Sawyer Mahler scored points on two spikes in a row, sticking her tongue out as her teammates huddled around her. After winning the first two sets against Lynnwood on Monday, Snohomish volleyball felt in control after Mahler helped them jump ahead 5-2 in the third set.
But Lynnwood started to battle back, scoring six straight points to pull ahead 8-5 before ultimately taking the third set 25-18. With the momentum shifted, Snohomish needed to regroup.
“We talked about confidence,” Snohomish coach Morgan Doyle said. “So we reminded them where they came from, why they play and then also just to follow through and trust each other, and know your role. You have to show up and do yours, and also trust your teammates to show up and do theirs, too.”
The two teams traded points back and forth before Snohomish pulled ahead 17-11. With the match on the line, Lynnwood fought back to cut it to 17-16 before eventually tying it 22-22.
Snohomish called one last timeout. They did not want to see this match go to a fifth set.
“We just wanted to finish the game,” junior libero Brooklyn Constance said. “We were sick of just returning what they were giving us, so we just tried to keep our cool, figure it out–”
Mahler cut in: “And clean it up.”
Clean up they did.
The Panthers (1-2) won three straight points to secure the 3-1 match victory (25-19, 25-22, 18-25, 25-22) against the Royals (0-1).
Mahler, a senior outside hitter, had a game-high 20 kills as well as 17 digs. Senior setter Maggie Cavanaugh had 19 assists, three kills and three aces while Constance had 18 digs.
Lynnwood senior Kristi Yun serves against Snohomish during the Royals’ 3-1 loss to the Panthers at Lynnwood High School on Sept. 9, 2025. (Joe Pohoryles / The Herald)
For Lynnwood, junior middle Audrey Williams led with 15 kills, senior setter Kristi Yun had eight assists, and junior libero Adeline Tran had seven digs.
After going down two sets to none, Lynnwood coach Surina Soumpholphakdy switched the lineup around to give Williams a chance to create more of an impact, and she ran with it. Williams had three of the Royals’ final five kills to win the third set while asserting herself more around the net.
“I also think we did a better job of playing smarter,” Soumpholphakdy said. “I think our hitters find those gaps in the deep corners, which I’m really proud of. They also mixed in a few tips and roll shots, which ultimately gave us a kill at times.”
While Snohomish responded in the fourth set to hand Lynnwood a loss in its first match of the season, the Royals showed plenty to build off. The Panthers, meanwhile, earned their first win after losing to Edmonds-Woodway and Bellevue to open the campaign.
The first set remained close, getting up to 13-13 before Snohomish started to pull away, forcing Lynnwood into a defensive position with aggressive attacks. The Panthers scored seven of the next nine points to go up 20-15 before ultimately taking the first set 25-19.
The Royals started to take control in the second set, winning a long rally with a handful of clutch digs before the Panthers ran out of hits to return the ball over the net, and took a 17-14 lead.
The Panthers whittled the score closer, taking a 21-20 lead after Constance saved a ball from landing out of bounds before Mahler set it up to Cavanaugh, who faked a set and bumped it over the net to score. The Royals had already started celebrating before Constance managed to keep the play alive.
“Nothing really goes through your mind when you’re going to dive for a ball,” Constance said. “It’s just… before you know it, you’re already on the ground and you see the ball go up, and hopefully your team just gets it over. It’s just kind of like a rush of adrenaline, and yeah, super fun.”
The score remained tight, but a couple of key Mahler kills helped Snohomish push to a 2-0 edge. After Lynnwood’s adjustment allowed Williams to take over and cut the match score to 2-1, the Panthers opened the fourth set with a 6-3 lead.
The Royals worked back to tie it 6-6, and the sides traded points to get to 9-9. Snohomish realized they had to get back to basics and focus on not repeating mistakes.
“We just kept hitting balls. We needed to start placing them in spots,” Mahler said. “Like move our balls around.”
The Panthers won eight of the next 10 points, and after Lynnwood made a comeback to tie it 22-22, Mahler delivered a crucial spike to make it 23-22 before a couple of errors from the Royals secured the victory for Snohomish.
After landing in the win column for the first time this season, Doyle had a handful of takeaways for the group before the league schedule kicks in.
“(We are) continuing to adjust our offense, mix up our shots and come together and celebrate every victory, no matter how small,” Doyle said. “Whether it be a point on the courts or after the game as well, just like a huge victory, and then just trying to strengthen our defense against a variety of hitters, too.”
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