Youthful Mount Si volleyball squad seeks another league title
September 21, 2011
By Dan Catchpole
Mount Si High School’s volleyball team is younger than last year’s team that won the KingCo Conference and finished sixth in state.
But the Wildcats are making another run for the league title. They are already off to a 3-0 start in conference play.
The team’s new faces picked up some valuable experience Sept. 17 while taking on some of the Pacific Northwest’s top teams at the Kent Classic. The Wildcats went 3-3 in the tournament, and stayed close in their losses.
Mount Si’s volleyball squad has to fill some big holes left by seven players who graduated last year. The core of this year’s team is six returning varsity players — three seniors and three juniors.
Senior Sarah McDonald has led the team’s offense so far this year. She put up 37 kills in the team’s first three games.
The 6-foot-1 McDonald quit basketball last year to focus on volleyball. In 2010, she was named to the 3A/2A KingCo All-League First Team.
Fellow senior Krista Galloway has been shutting down opponents at the net as a mid-blocker. Galloway traveled to Georgia this summer to play volleyball against some of the top teams in the country. She has returned to the Wildcats with a more polished skill set and a new intensity.
Last season, she earned 3A/2A KingCo All-League honorable mention.
Junior Lauren Smith also earned an honorable mention last season. Playing as a setter, she had 17 assists and four aces in the Wildcats win over Liberty on Sept. 8.
Sophomore Noelle Stockstad racked up 28 assists against Lake Washington.
Another sophomore, Lyndsay Carr, has stepped up to share the offense work. She had 16 kills and four digs against Lake Washington.
Leading the defense at libero is senior Brooke Bonner. As libero, she moves where needed.
One freshman, Anna McCreadie, made the varsity squad. The 6-foot-2 McCreadie will play as a mid-blocker up front.
To grab another conference title, the Wildcats will have to get around Mercer Island. The Islanders are off to a 4-0 start. The Seattle Times ranked them as No. 5 in the state through the season’s first two weeks.
Whichever team wins the state title will have to get through the powerful Metro League, which is older and stronger than last year. Three of its teams made The Times’ preseason top 10 ranking for 3A/2A.
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