MONROE — The Snohomish High School volleyball team walked into Monroe’s gymnasium Wednesday night with one objective: stop Bearcats sophomore outside hitter Shannara Peebles.
For three of four sets, the Panthers completed that task.
Though Peebles ended the contest with 18 kills, Snohomish’s (7-4 overall, 6-1 league) defense went up big at the net and blocked Peebles’ four hits in the last nine points of the fourth set to secure a 3-1 Wesco 3A/2A North victory. Set scores were 25-13, 25-22, 18-25, 25-18.
“We knew that Shannara was their biggest hitter. We wanted to shut her down,” said Panthers coach Morgan Doyle. “We were effective at using all of our hitters. We moved the ball around a lot, and we targeted a lot of different zones on the court and mixed up our shots.
“Our dynamic shifted, and there was a little bit less hustle to every ball,” she said about her team dropping the third set. “(In the fourth), we mixed up based on what (Shannara) was hitting. We adjusted blocking line or angle, and blocking angle worked the best in that moment, so we made sure we capitalized on that.”
Monroe’s Kiah Dunbar tips the ball over the top of the net during the game against Snohomish on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Monroe, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Junior outside hitter Heidi Chambers led Snohomish with 18 kills, 10 digs, three aces and two blocks. Senior outside hitter Keira Beverford contributed 11 digs and nine kills while junior setter Maggie Cavanaugh added 24 assists, six digs and three aces. Senior middle hitter Tyler Gildersleeve-Stiles helped defend against the Bearcats’ attack with five blocks. Junior outside hitter Sawyer Mahler, who played her freshman and sophomore years at Monroe (7-4, 3-4), helped keep the ball in play on defense with 21 digs.
Bearcats sophomore libero Maddie Walker recorded 19 digs and three aces, and senior setter Lexi Walker posted 10 digs and 13 assists.
“We crunched a lot of film on Snohomish,” said Monroe coach Michael Jordan, whose team lost 3-0 to the Panthers in September. “Our strategy was to spread their defensive wings out and target one through five because they collapsed the court very well. They play an aggressive defense. … So we were just trying to get them to have to make the tough pass.
“We really wanted this match here in our barn tonight,” he continued. “We prepared specifically for their attacks, and we came in tight. We were so concerned with strategy and technique and where our opportunities were that we overprepared, and we were flat.”
Snohomish’s Julia DeLeone sets the ball during the game against Monroe on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Monroe, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish never trailed in the first two sets, and its biggest lead of the night was 21-9 in the first set. The Panthers also went on three, three-point streaks and one, five-point run. To begin the second set, Snohomish scored six straight and maintained a consistent lead of five to eight points. But the spread narrowed when Monroe scored four consecutive times from a 23-15 deficit followed by another three points to finish just shy of capturing the set.
The Bearcats also lost sophomore Kayla Wolford to a knee injury after the first point of the second set.
The momentum tilted in Monroe’s favor in the third set. The Bearcats trailed twice early on but got into a rhythm and comfortably continued their attack. Peebles also fired over two nonreturnable serves to conclude the set.
Monroe looked as if they could notch the fourth set after taking a 6-5 lead and maintaining a one or two point hold. Once the scoreboard showed 16-16, though, the Panthers’ defense found the recipe to blocking Peebles’ right arm, and the score never went back in the Bearcats’ favor.
Monroe’s Shannara Peebles Shirmedov tips the ball over the net during the game against Snohomish on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Monroe, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
“Taking that loss in the third set really helped us bring back our energy,” Chambers said. “We used (Shannara’s) pass hits to know our spots on the court, like staying a little bit wider to keep the ball off the ground.
“Our mentality needs to stay high,” she said about what her junior-senior heavy squad needs to do in the last matches before districts. “Lots of us have played together for at least three years now, so we’re starting to know each other better and play more connected.”
Snohomish rests at No. 2 and the Bearcats No. 3 in the league standings with five matches remaining for both teams in the regular season. In the District 1 3A standings, the Panthers were third and the Bearcats were seventh after Wednesday’s match. The top four teams receive a bye in the first round of the district tournament.
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