Prep volleyball: Hawks down Mavs 3-1

In a battle between two teams desperately in need of wins to qualify for the postseason that begins later this month, it was the Mountlake Terrace Hawks that grabbed the victory on Wednesday.

The Hawks defeated the visiting Meadowdale Mavericks 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-16) in a 2A/3A Wesco League match played at Mountlake Terrace High School.

The win was just the first in Wesco League play – and the first in nearly four weeks – for Terrace this season.

“Oh my gosh, we’ve been working so hard,” exclaimed Terrace captain Sophie Parsons after the victory. “It’s been a whole month with no wins – all straight L’s – but tonight was just different.”

“We were all in the game, we were all playing for each other, playing for the (home) crowd,” Parsons continued. “We just had that energy, we had that fire that we’ve been working for for a whole month. And the result for so amazing.”

Terrace (1-6 in league play, 2-7 overall) is hoping to beat out teams such as Sammamish (0-11), Granite Falls (1-5), Sedro Woolley (1-6), Sehome (2-6) and Anacortes (2-6) for one of the final berths in the District 1/2 2A Volleyball Tournament that ushers in postseason play on Oct. 31. With six matches remaining in the regular season, the Hawks still have opportunities to earn enough victories to make the district field – Wednesday’ win will help in that cause.

With the same 1-6 in league play and 2-7 overall record as the Hawks, Meadowdale is battling to secure a spot in a District 1 3A Volleyball Tournament play-in game at the end of the month, but may need to pick up a win or two against some tough competition in their final five regular season games to qualify.

Mavs’ Coach Machen Shrum believes her squad can reach the postseason with a more focused effort. “For us it’s been day-in and day-out just trying to eliminate unforced errors and being a consistent team,” she explained. “I am seeing some improvements in areas that we’re working on.”

Even in Wednesday’s loss to Terrace, Shrum was pleased with her team’s drive late in the match.

“I saw a little bit more here at the end in the last game even though the score was not what we wanted; I thought there was a little more fight and a little more energy,” Shrum noted.

While the determination of the Mavs may have seemed the strongest at the end of the match, Shrum believes it was the overall push of the Hawks throughout the clash that gave them the win.

“They were a little more aggressive than we were,” Shrum said. “They found the opportunities to attack more than we did.”

“I felt like they were more consistent, and the team usually that’s more consistent is going to keep the ball in the court,” she added.

The Hawks’ aggressiveness and consistency may have improved over the past few matches due to the addition of two freshmen to the varsity roster, Kaitlyn Scott and Kiana Hinckley. Scott and Hinckley played throughout much of Wednesday’s match and proved to be important elements to Wednesday’s win, Parsons explained.

“Kaitlyn (Scott), our new libero, (did) some great passes out of the back,” Parsons said. “”Kiana (Hinckley) (is a) crazy outside hitter; I can always rely on her.”

“They’re great assets to the team,” Parsons said.

Scott, Hinckley, Parsons and the rest of the Hawks will be tested in their next match on Tuesday, Oct. 10, as they host the 7-1 Stanwood Spartans, a co-leader of the 2A/3A Wesco League.

Meadowdale will take a break from league play and travel to Mount Vernon on Saturday, Oct. 10, to participate in the Mount Vernon Invite; play at the one-day tournament begins at 9 a.m.

Prep Volleyball: Meadowdale at Mountlake Terrace, Oct. 4

Mountlake Terrace 3 – Meadowdale 1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-16)

Records: Mountlake Terrace 1-6 in 2A/3A Wesco League, 2-7 overall; Meadowdale 1-6 in 2A/3A Wesco League, 2-7 overall

Mountlake Terrace next match: versus Stanwood, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 7 p.m. at Mountlake Terrace High School

Meadowdale next matches: at Mount Vernon Invite, Saturday, Oct. 7, 9 a.m. at Mount Vernon High School

–By Doug Petrowski

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