Jackson started fast and Shorecrest found itself in a deep hole, but the Scots dug themselves out and won 3-2 Oct. 6 at Jackson High School.
If you believe the polls, Shorecrest is one of the top 10 volleyball teams in Class 3A. Shorecrest coach Dave Morehouse, who is in his 21st year, doubts that anybody really knows who the best teams are but on this night Jackson (0-1 league, 1-5 overall) gave Shorecrest (1-0, 3-2) all it could handle in the Western Conference South Division opener for both teams.
In the decisive fifth game, the Scots fell behind 5-1 but rallied to tie it at six, thanks to the serving of Jamie McDonald and a pair of kills by Gloria Tseng.
Jackson went on another run and took an 11-9 lead on a kill by 6-foot, 2-inch middle blocker Leigh-Ann Haataja and hit out-of-bounds by Shorecrest. Shorecrest scored three straight points to take a 12-11 lead. Jackson kept coming back with kills by 6-foot, 5-inch middle blocker Christy Cain to tie at 14-all and 15-all. But in the end, it was Tseng who delivered a pair of kills for the 17-15 win.
The Timberwolves won the first two games, 25-20 and 26-24, which were both closely contested with neither team leading by more than three points in the second game.
In game three, Jackson took an 8-6 lead but Shorecrest regained the momentum after setter Kerry Clavadetscher got a tip kill. That tip started a 9-0 run behind the serving of Gloria Tseng and Shorecrest went on to win the game 25-19.
Shorecrest dominated game four 25-15.
Still, it was the best match Jackson had played all season a clean slate for a team that hadn’t played up to its potential yet.
“We hung with them when we weren’t even expected to come close,” Jackson’s Cain said.
Shorecrest survived the match, but as senior setter Kerry Clavadetscher put it, the Scots were out of position much of the night. A lot of balls dropped in that they should get.
“We’re just not making simple plays,” Morehouse said. “We didn’t make simple plays we should have made. We gave them too many free points.”
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