The varsity volleyballers of the Valley held their own last week, as they split a pair of games.

The Wildcats saw their postseason chances take a bit of a hit last Monday night, Oct. 13, as they fell at league leader Mercer Island.

The Islanders took the match in four games, 25-18, 25-16, 20-25, 25-21. Robyn Schirmer led the way for Mount Si with four kills, 13 assists and 12 digs. Miranda Pratt had 12 kills and Cortney Tubbs had a good night with 13 digs. Bethany Frieler added nine digs.

The Wildcats rebounded in a big way, though, on Wednesday, Oct. 15, as they made short work of Sammamish. Pratt led the way with 10 kills, five aces, 11 digs and two blocks as Mount Si rolled 25-11, 25-16, 25-17.

“They came out, connected, played well, stayed focused, didn’t drop down a level, just played consistent,” said Mount Si coach Bonnie Foote.

“I know our team had so much fun because it was a chance to get better,” Pratt said.

The Wildcats in the first frame got solid efforts from Pratt, Schirmer, Aubrey Larion and Mackenzie Peerboom as they steadily built their lead throughout the stanza. A four-out-of-five service ace string by Larion cemented things late. On game point, a Sammamish hitting error handed Mount Si the game.

The Totems were a little tougher to beat in game two, as they got solid efforts from Lila Becker and Kellyn McCann. Thanks to a couple of kills from Zoe Gogan and a three-ace string by Pratt, the ‘Cats were able to take control, and a Sammamish net violation handed Mount Si the middle frame.

The Wildcats built a solid lead in the third and final game of the match, behind a couple of Schirmer aces. The Totems tried to make a game of it late, but a Larion ace and Schirmer kill helped to seal Sammamish’s fate and keep Mount Si firmly in the hunt for top seeding in the postseason.

Schirmer had 24 assists, four aces, four digs, and two kills including the match-closer. Frieler added 11 digs, and Peerboom contributed four kills and four digs.

Another new face from junior varsity showed up on the varsity scene: sophomore Anna Moetului got into the match late in the third game.

She had mixed emotions about her entry.

“It’s really exciting,” she said. “You’re kind of nervous, because you don’t know if you’re going to do well ‘cause everyone’s so good, but you kind of have to get out of that mindset and just play to prove that you can come up here again.”

Foote’s goal in bringing up the younger players is to see what they can bring to the table down the stretch.

“You have to look at positions and where we need some depth, just in case we have injuries,” she said. “That’s what I’ve been doing by bringing these girls up.”

The injury bug having been a big factor these last couple of weeks, the depth that players such as Moetului, Baylee Sinner, Erika Clark, Amanda Beekman bring could become crucial as the season winds down.

Mount Si hosts Juanita on Wednesday, Oct. 22.

It is the final home match of the regular season, and thus the final home match for seniors Pratt, Tubbs, Frieler and Peerboom. Game time is 7 p.m.