Sequim Gazette staff
Twice, Sequim came back from a deficit. Twice, the Roughriders had an answer.
Port Angeles’ volleyball squad defended its home court last week but it wasn’t easy, needing five sets to knock off the rival Wolves (25-21, 23-25, 25-23, 18-25, 15-12) on Sept. 26.
“We had moments where we played very well but times when we didn’t,” Sequim coach Jennie Webber Heilman said. “We were inconsistent on defense, allowing them to score too many tips.”
Alyse Armstong led the team with 13 kills and 3 assists, and Alexas Besand had 12 kills.
But the Riders, led by Holli Williams’ 33 assist, three aces and five kills, had just enough to get by Sequim.
The Wolves had trouble at the net, recording just two stuff blocks.
“We … need to improve our blocking if we want to win more games,” Webber Heilman said.
SHS libero Hannah Hudson starred on defense with 36 digs and was 19-of-23 serving.
Knocking off the Knights
On Sept. 24, Sequim raced out to a big lead early and closed out the visiting Bremerton squad quickly in three sets (25-11, 25-17, 25-13).
Armstrong paced the offense with eight kills and eight assists. Besand added four kills and two blocks while Emma LeBlanc had seven assists and was 17-of-17 on serves.
Besand closed the match out with three consecutive aces.
“Bremerton was struggling to keep the ball in play,” Webber Heilman said.
Shutting out the Seahawks
The visiting Peninsula Seahawks scored the first two points of the match on aces — but not much after that.
Besand and Armstrong combined for 14 kills while Caitlin Stofferhan had five blocks as Sequim defended its home court on Sept. 23 with a three-set, non-league win (25-18, 25-16, 25-18).
“We started a little slow … but then we only allowed six aces total for the match,” Webber Heilman said.
“Caitlin was blocking well at the net. Our defense did not let many balls hit the ground and we served very well overall. Peninsula couldn’t deal with it.”
Armstrong had five aces while Stofferahn and Emily Wallner had four each.
Red Raiders outlast Wolf attack
It was a possible preview of a state tourney match-up as Bellingham edged the visiting Wolves 3-2 (25-20, 17-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-11) on Sept. 21, giving Sequim its second loss of the season.
“Our offense was spread out well but Bellingham was just a little better,” Webber Heilman said.”
Armstrong (11 kills) and Besand (10) led the Sequim offense while Hudson was SHS’s top defender with 36 digs.
Looking ahead
Sequim was slated to play at Kingston on Oct. 1 — results were not available at press time. The Wolves host Klahowya on Oct. 3 and play at North Mason on Oct. 8. Sequim takes on some of the top state teams from all classifications at the Capital City Tournament in Olympia on Oct. 12.
