Olympic League standings

(as of Oct. 8)

Team Lg. Over.

North Kitsap 7-0 8-0

Sequim 7-1 9-1

Kingston 5-3 6-4

North Mason 4-3 6-3

Bremerton 2-6 3-6

Olympic 2-6 2-8

Port Angeles 0-8 0-9

With a battle against the state’s No. 1-ranked team looming, Sequim’s Wolves looked to keep pace with their Olympic League rivals with a pair of wins against two struggling league foes.

Sequim, ranked No. 10 in the 2A classification in the first Washington State Volleyball Coaches Association rankings of the season in early October, did exactly that, dispatching Port Angeles on the road on Oct. 2 and Bremerton at home on Oct. 4 with three-set sweeps.

On Oct. 2, the Wolves got 12 kills and 26 digs from Taylor Breckenridge, 10 kills and seven blocks from Jayla Julmist and a strong service (27-of-27 serves, four aces) and passing game (22 assists) from Kalli Wiker as they upended winless Port Angeles, 25-27, 25-10, 25-23.

“Kalli did a great job of spreading it out,” Sequim coach Jennie Webber Heilman said. “Jayla was hitting last night. She’s getting more confident with her hitting.”

Wiker had two runs of seven consecutive serves to spur the SHS offense.

“Isabelle (Dennis) … and Tayler … helped Kalli get some great sets to our hitters,” Webber Heilman said.

“Bobbi (Sparks) and Kalli also had some great defense.”

Dennis, a defensive specialist, finished with 25 digs and was 9-for-9 serving. Sparks added eight digs.

Two days later, Sequim (7-1 in Olympic League play, 9-1 overall) struggled at times but managed to top the visiting Bremerton Knights, 25-21, 25-23, 25-15.

“That was ugly, to say the least,” Webber Heilman said. “They were kind of fired up from Port Angeles (but they) just started kind of flat.

“These are the teams you have to watch out for; they have nothing to lose.”

Breckenridge led the offense once again with team highs of 14 kills, four aces and 24 digs.

Wiker added 23 assists and 12 digs, and Sparks was 16-of-16 on serves with 11 digs.

Wiker and Latisha Robideau had three aces each, Sequim racked up 11 aces overall.

For the second consecutive game, Sequim was without Brittany Gale, one of the team’s setters.

“Our passing is fine; we didn’t have our other setter (so) getting hits up (was key to winning),” Sparks said following the Bremerton match.

“We got through this week,” Webber Heilman said. “We need to keep winning.”

The Wolves were scheduled to play at Olympic on Oct. 9.

Sequim then hosts a showdown with league-leading — and No. 1-ranked — North Kitsap at home on Oct. 11.

“Their hitting is really good,” Sparks said of the top-ranked Vikings.

North Kitsap (7-0 in league, 8-0 overall) topped Sequim in four games on Sept. 18.

Tourney trials

Sequim got a taste of competition from across the state at the 64 team Linda Sheridan Volleyball Classic in Spokane in late September.

The Wolves won four of seven matches and showed strong effort in each match, Webber Heilman said, despite Breckenridge — the team’s top offensive threat — battling through an illness.

Sequim opened with a 25-10, 25-21 loss to 4A Chiawana High (Pasco), but rebounded with a three-set win (25-23, 20-25, 16-14) win over Joel Ferris (Spokane), also a 4A school.

“We played a great match and served very well,” Webber Heilman said. “We were playing great defense with a total of 65 digs.”

In the third match against Liberty, Sequim was up 23-17 in the first set but dropped that and the second, 26-24 and 25-14.

“We just lost focus and were not playing up to our standards,” Webber Heilman said.

The Wolves saw a bit of a repeat against 2A Clarkston in the playoff bracket in match four, falling 14-25, 25-8, 15-7.

In match five, Sequim edged 3A foe Mount Spokane in three games, 26-24, 22-25 and 15-11.

“(We) started playing better, digging up balls and getting some blocks,” Webber Heilman said, noting the team’s 12 aces.

Because of the tourney’s time constraints, the rest of the bracket played one game to 25 points. Sequim defeated 1A Chewelah 25-21, then topped 3A Shadle Park, 25-21.

“In the end we were very tired, but we were playing better as a whole,” Webber Heilman said.

Looking ahead

Sequim takes on some of the region’s top teams at the Capitol City Invite in Olympia on Oct. 13.

Following an Oct. 18 league match at North Mason, the Wolves cap the regular season at home on Oct. 22 against Kingston.

The Olympic League tourney, a seeding tournament for districts, is scheduled for Oct. 27 — hosted by the Olympic League-leading school.