Short-handed volleyball squad upset at Juanita
October 2, 2008
By Ryan Piersol
The Mount Si volleyball team has known for some time the importance of veteran leaders.
Amanda Gates serves to Juanita Monday night. Photo by Ryan Piersol
Unfortunately, the Wildcats still received an up-close example of their value Monday night – and it wasn’t pretty.
Playing without junior starter Shelagh Macaulay and senior starter Bethany Frieler, the Wildcats were upset by league foe Juanita, 3-1, on the road. It was just the second loss of the season for Mount Si and its first being so short-handed.
“We’re very, very disappointed,” head coach Bonnie Foote said. “I’m not one to make excuses for losing, but we had two starters gone tonight. It’s huge, because you’re asking freshmen and sophomores to step up into a situation that’s not always easy. They were out of their comfort zone.”
Frieler was out sick, while Macaulay was sidelined with a broken arm. Foote said the team hopes to have Macaulay back in time for the league tournament.
Every set the Wildcats lost against Juanita was a close one. They started off by dropping the first, 27-25. Mount Si rebounded with an easy 25-14 win in the second set, but the Rebels then took back-to-back sets by a 25-22 score, rallying from behind late in the final one.
The win improved Juanita to 3-1 in league play, while Mount Si dropped to 3-2 and 5-2 overall.
Miranda Pratt led the Wildcats with 17 kills, 23 digs and five aces. Mackenzie Peerboom and Zoe Gogan combined for 25 kills, while Courtney Tubbs had 14 digs and Robyn Schirmer 44 assists.
“They came out and wanted it. They kept us in pressure situations and we felt it,” Foote said of Juanita. “We’re kind of in shambles right now. We really are.”
The loss followed a 3-0 Wednesday victory against Interlake in which the Wildcats were dominant, winning 25-14, 25-16, 25-8. Pratt had 11 kills and three blocks in the victory, while Schirmer finished with 22 assists and eight aces. Peerboom also recorded eight kills.
Before Monday, Mount Si’s only other loss was to Mercer Island. Unfortunately, each of the Wildcats’ defeats were in-league. They’ll have some catching up to do if they want to capture the KingCo 3A/2A crown.
The first step may simply be getting healthy.
“It’s not the end of the world. We don’t have to be good right now,” Foote said. “We’re fine. We just need to bounce back and get better.”
Reach editor Ryan Piersol at editor@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434.
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