The Mount Si varsity volleyball team knew going into last Saturday’s winner-to-state Sea-
King District tournament game that they would have a tough challenge with their opponent, Seattle Prep.
At times, the Wildcats lived up to that challenge, making the contest feel like a prize fight. But unforced mistakes ended up costing the Wildcats.
Seattle Prep took the match in four, 25-21, 17-25, 25-19, 25-17, as the Panthers used those Mount Si mistakes and the solid play of sophomore Olivia Magill to take care of business.
“We made a lot of errors, a lot of hitting errors. We didn’t pass the ball well, and if we don’t pass, we don’t have a chance to run our offense,” said Wildcat coach Bonnie Foote.
The Panthers broke out to the early lead in the opening frame, only to see the Wildcats mount a comeback and tie the match 7-7. From this point it was very close the rest of the way, as strong play from Zoe Gogan and Shelagh Macaulay helped Mount Si match Seattle Prep point for point. When the Panthers tried to pull away, Mount Si responded to make things close. But Seattle Prep was able to seize control, and a kill slammed the door shut.
The Wildcats responded well in the second frame, despite the Panthers opening it with the lead once again. A Macaulay ace with the score tied 4-4 put Mount Si in the lead for the first time in the match, and after a Prep response to re-tie things at 5-5, a Gogan kill enabled the Wildcats to take command for good in the set.
Strong serving from Amanda Gates was key to bringing home the second stanza. She has been working on a jump serve, in which Gates jumps up to hit the ball in mid-air after she tosses it up.
“It was just practice, practice, practice,” Gates said.
During her preparation, she focused on one key part of the serve — “Mostly the toss,” Gates said. “I have a lot of trouble with that, and if it’s 1 percent off, it’s not going to work.”
The junior performed well despite a broken finger suffered in last Thursday’s first-round contest against Eastside Catholic, won by the Wildcats in four games.
“You just have to keep the pain out of your mind and do your best,” Gates said.
The Panthers used key plays from Magill to aid victories in the final two frames to close out the match. But all was not lost, as the Wildcats beat Mercer Island and Holy Names to claim a berth from the SeaKing District to this weekend’s state tournament in the Tri-Cities.
“It feels really good. It shows a lot about our team,” said senior co-captain Robyn Schirmer.
Mount Si beat their Kingco rivals in four to knock Mercer Island out of the postseason, then swept a Cougar team who beat the Wildcats in the 2007 state tournament fifth-place match to grab the district number three slot.
During the last two years, the Mount Si team stayed at a Red Lion hotel near the Tri Cities’ Toyota Center arena where the tourney is held. Schirmer hopes to make it a third straight visit.
“They’d better be ready, because we’re coming back,” she said.
