A key win against a rival and a three-game sweep on the road at Olympic last week put Sequim into second place in the Olympic League with just a few matches remaining in the regular season.
Sequim shrugged off a second set defeat to top Port Angeles 3-1 (25-9, 21-25, 25-11, 25-21) on Oct. 11.
The win helped Sequim rebound from a three-set loss to the Roughriders on Sept. 15.
“I’m glad we played that tournament this weekend,” Sequim coach Jennie Webber Heilman said, referring to an Oct. 8 gauntlet at the Capital Tournament in Olympia.
That competition — including a tourney-opening match against state 2A runner-up Ridgefield — helped Sequim be ready for the rematch with the Riders, she said.
Kendall Hastings earned team-highs with 18 kills and 11 blocks to defend Sequim’s home gym.
Jolene Vaara added six kills, 10 assists, seven digs and two blocks.
“Everyone did their part and applied what we have been working on at practice,” Vaara said.
Sydney Clark chipped in seven assists, while Arianna Stovall added three kills and three of the Wolves’ 13 aces.
Angel Wagner, who served 23-of-24, had a 10-point serving run in the first set
“It was rewarding to see everything we’ve been working on to help us beat P.A.,” said Sequim libero Mia Coudriet, who had a team-high 11 digs.
Jasmine Messinger led the Riders with 10 kills, while Lily Halberg had seven kills, 11 digs and two aces. Josephine Edgington had 24 assists and two aces, while Libero Cindy Liang had 22 digs. Ava Hairell added five kills.
‘We just want to keep our second place standing [in league],” Webber Heilman said.
Two days later, consistent play and more bigs games from Hastings and Vaara led the Wolves to a three-set win at Olympic (25-17, 25-20, 25-12) to improve to 8-2 in Olympic League play and 8-3 overall.
Sequim gave up more than two points in a row just once.
Clark was the Wolves’ toughest server, going 18-of-19 from the service line with a team-high six aces of the team’s total of 13. She also had eight assists and nine digs.
Hastings had 14 kills and four blocks, while Vaara had five kills, 14 assists and eight digs.
“Jolene was getting great sets to our offense,” Webber Heilman said.
2-4 at Capital
Sequim won two of six matches and had a couple of close calls against tough teams at the Capital Tournament on Oct. 8, finishing 12th out of 16 teams.
The Wolves opened against Ridgefield, the same team SHS opened against at the 2021 state 2A tourney, and fell 25-20, 25-19. The Wolves dropped a close match to Timberline (27-25, 25-22) and then to host Capital (25-23, 25-13)
In Bracket play, Sequim lost to LaConner 25-18, 25-22 but rebounded to beat Yelm 25-19, 25-21, and Montesano in three sets: 26-24, 24-26, 15-5.
Coming up
Sequim was slated to host league-leading North Kitsap on Oct. 18.
Sequim hosts 3A Bainbridge on Oct. 20 and play at Bremerton on Oct. 25 before finishing the regular season at home on Oct. 27.
The Wolves then play at the four-team Olympic League tournament, setting seeding for the 16-team West Central District tournament set for Nov. 11-12 at Franklin Pierce and Sammamish high schools.
Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim’s Kendall Hastings looks to hit past Port Angeles’ Karma Williams in the second game of a four-set Sequim home win on Oct. 11.
Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim players Sydney Clark (7), Anna Cowan (8) and Kendall Hastings (15) look on as Port Angeles players try to return a volley in the Wolves’ four-set home win on Oct. 11.
