Going into their midseason volleyball showdown, both the Edmonds-Woodway Warriors and the Archbishop Murphy Wildcats were sporting perfect 5-0 Wesco League records. The winner of Wednesday’s big matchup would remain undefeated in league play and sit atop the 2A/3A league standings.
Unfortunately for the shorthanded Warriors, the Wildcats proved to be too big, powerful and hungry to be taken down in their own den.
While Archbishop Murphy was surprised in the first set, the Wildcats roared back to defeat the Warriors 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-14) on Wednesday before an enthusiastic crowd at Archbishop Murphy High School.
ABM took advantage of an E-W squad playing without starting outside hitter Sawyer Hiatt, who couldn’t make the trip to south Everett for the match due to illness. The sophomore left the Warriors without a key piece on their front line and thus they were susceptible to the Wildcats’ punishing offensive attack.
“Without Sawyer, she’s a weapon for us; we just don’t have the ability to terminate the same way,” said Edmonds-Woodway Coach Bart Foley.
ABM enjoyed a big advantage in net play, out-spiking and out-blocking the Warriors in every set. The Wildcats were led in kills by senior co-captain Tatum Gill with 22. Teulia Halalilo, just a sophomore but one of the hardest hitters in the 2A/3A Wesco League, tallied 13 kills.
Without Hiatt’s front-line prowess Wednesday, E-W’s attack was led by freshman Reinna Mostrales with eight of the team’s 23 kills in the match. The Warriors as a team recorded only one point-scoring block.
Despite playing on the road without a key starter, the Warriors showed some moxie by capturing the first set 25-23 after trailing 11-4 early on. E-W fought its way back from the big deficit, eventually taking a 16-14 lead after three straight aces by junior Neeva Travis and then holding on for the set victory.
“Considering all the factors, I was pleased with the way we came out of the gates hot.” Foley said.
But then the Wildcats began to assert their will on the Warriors, never trailing in the second set and winning the third set with an overwhelming display of power. ABM took the third set by scoring 11 points by kills and another five with aces.
“That’s a good team, first of all; credit to them,” Foley said. “They’re really comfortable in their gym.”
After trailing 9-5 in the fourth set, ABM finished with a 20-5 run to close out the match and seize the victory.
Bart admitted that his squad did seem to run out of gas late in the match.
“We had a five-setter on Monday night against Lynnwood (a 3-2 E-W win) — it took a lot out of us,” he said. “We had a practice yesterday (Tuesday) and for some reason the gym was just really muggy and hot. So we were really lethargic. No excuse, but I just think my girls are a little tired.”
Wednesday’s loss to Archbishop Murphy was the first of the season for the Warriors (5-1 in 2A/3A Wesco League play, 8-1 overall). Foley called the test against ABM “a barometer check” for his young squad — there are just two seniors on the E-W roster — and he thinks his players will learn from it.
“We’ll get better because of tonight,” he said.
Foley added that the season’s first defeat for his team didn’t upset him too much.
“I’m not too bummed out about tonight, and I look forward to seeing them again,” he said. “I think it will be a much different scenario when we see them toward the end of our regular season at our place.”
The Warriors will host ABM (6-0 in 2A/3A Wesco League play, 8-1 overall) Oct. 29 at Edmonds-Woodway High School.
Prep Volleyball: Edmonds-Woodway at Archbishop Murphy, Oct. 9
Archbishop Murphy 3 – Edmonds-Woodway 1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-14)
Top E-W individual performers:
– Reinna Mostrales: 8 kills
– Addyson Pontak: 17 digs
– Neeva Travis: 12 assists, 6 aces
– Ava Bartin: 10 digs
Top ABM individual performers:
– Tatum Gill: 22 kills, 11 digs
– Teuila Halalilo: 18 assists, 13 kills
– Laura Esping: 19 assists, 11 digs
Records: Edmonds-Woodway 5-1 in 2A/3A Wesco League, 8-1 overall; Archbishop Murphy 6-0 in 2A/3A Wesco League, 6-1 overall
Edmonds-Woodway next match; versus Lincoln (Seattle); Thursday, Oct. 10; 7 p.m. at Edmonds-Woodway High School.
Archbishop Murphy next match; versus Lynnwood; Monday, Oct. 14; 7 p.m. at Lynnwood High School.
– Story and photos by Doug Petrowski
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