Story and photos by Doug Petrowski
After breezing through a first game in which they never trailed, the Mountlake Terrace girls volleyball team couldn’t keep up with a suddenly awakened Glacier Peak squad Monday night. The eighth-ranked Grizzlies beat the Hawks 3-1 (18-25, 25-16, 25-23, 25-20) at the Mountlake Terrace High School gymnasium.
Glacier Peak (4-3 in the conference, 9-4 overall) used streaks of strong play to come away with the victory. The Grizzlies scored seven straight points in the second game to take a 16-10 lead they never gave up, five straight points late in the third game, and six straight points late in the fourth and final game.
Hawk Coach Marietta Snyder liked the way her team played in winning the first game. “We just couldn’t carry any of that intensity from the first game into the second,” she said. “It’s disappointing, especially for the seniors since it was Seniors’ Night.”
Seniors Sarah Pung, Anne-Marie Gonzalez and Casey Hynes, playing for the last time at home, were honored before the start of Monday’s match by receiving flowers and accolades from their teammates.
Snyder pointed to the third game of the match as key. The Hawks were up 17-16 when Glacier Peak scored five straight points, two off aces from All-Wesco senior Ruby Mensing. Even a Mountlake Terrace timeout in the middle of the run couldn’t slow the streaking Grizzlies.
“We had lots of opportunities,” said Snyder. “We should have pulled it out.”
Then in the fourth and final game, Mountlake Terrace led 19-16 when the Grizzlies began another streak, putting six straight points on the scoreboard and outscoring the Hawks 11-1 to finish off the victory.
Glacier Peak Coach Chris Pratt was impressed with the emotion that the Hawks showed throughout the night. “I’m hoping to get my team to play with the same heart,” he said afterwards.
The loss most likely puts an end to any hopes the Hawks (1-6 in the conference, 7-6 overall) had of playing in the post-season. Their final regular season match is Wednesday, Oct. 24, at Shorecrest at 7 p.m.
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