EVERETT — When the Archbishop Thomas Murphy volleyball team bounced onto the court last week to face South Whidbey, it didn’t act like a squad that was down three returning lettermen.
It didn’t matter that the Wildcats, a 2A team, were going up against a 3A school.
But by the final game, enthusiasm wasn’t enough for Archbishop Murphy.
The Wildcats lost 19-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-14 to South Whidbey in a Cascade Conference match Oct. 1 at Archbishop Murphy High School. The Wildcats (3-3 in the league, 4-4 overall), finished the week in fourth place in the league.
Archbishop Murphy was led by sophomore Kayelynne Huggins, who had six aces and senior Kyla Thompson, who had eight kills and six blocks.
The Wildcats overcame South Whidbey’s initial 3-point lead to win the first game. But the Falcons’ strong offensive effort coupled with a weak Archbishop Murphy defense enabled South Whidbey to seize control and win the following three games.
The Wildcats tried to look on the bright side, noting that losses against 3A schools don’t factor into their eligibility for the playoffs, something coach Mike Bettinghouse reminded the players afterwards:
“I’m proud of you,” he said, “Remember, we can learn so much from each game. The 3A teams we play don’t count against us.”
Archbishop Murphy, missing three returning lettermen, was not at full strength. Bettinghouse said the loss of star defensive player Allie Gotz, who watched from the bench for the past week with a broken nose due to a volleyball-related accident at home, was particularly hard for the team.
“Our weakness tonight (was) passing,” Bettinghouse said. “Allie passed very, very well.”
The previous night’s 3-1 loss to Mount Baker was similar to what happened with South Whidbey, said Bettinghouse.
“We won the first game, played close in the second and third games, but were weak by the end,” he said. “(The team was) tired, kind of worn out from that.”
Spread thin, the Wildcats struggled to fill in the gaps in their technique.
“Our weaknesses? We are pretty hard on ourselves,” said senior co-captain Ashley Werner. “We get down on ourselves. We’re a young team. A lot of us aren’t used to the momentum of the game or the pace that we go at. A lot of us don’t have experience pushing the last game out of their mind.”
But their weakness — youth — also is a strength.
“We have a lot of energy and our enthusiasm is reflective of how we play,” Werner said. “Whenever we get down we all help each other up. We all know what it is like to be down.”
Bettinghouse remained upbeat despite the loss.
“It’s very encouraging. I’m proud of them,” he said. “I think they had tremendous effort and the rest of the season looks very encouraging.”
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