BELLINGHAM – Teamwork got it done on Tuesday night as the Sehome volleyball team defeated the Trojans in four sets at Meridian High School.
The Mariners looked dominant early on as they won the first set 25-17. They jumped out to a 17-6 lead, with the help of back-to-back aces from sophomore Aspen Garrison and multiple kills from junior Cameron Hodges. Garrison and junior Grace VanderGriend added kills late in the set to put the Trojans away.
Sehome cruised in the second set with a 25-13 victory, which was led by multiple kills from Hodges and VanderGriend, along with senior Sara Bozorgzad and freshman Kaia Aylen.
“Our first few matches earlier in the season were a little shaky,” Hodges said. “But, at the Burlington tournament a few weeks ago we started to really piece things together as a group. We’ve been communicating really well as a team”
Meridian went on a roll in the third set, however, and took a 7-6 lead to a much more comfortable 18-8 lead, with the Mariners calling a pair of time outs in between. The Trojans were led by the dominant performance at the net by junior Makenzie Flake as well as back-to-back aces by senior Bailey Gardner, which prompted the second time out.
Sehome went on a few short runs, but Meridian ultimately would win the third set 25-17. The Trojans also had a pre-game celebration as they celebrated the 20-year anniversary of their 1998 State Championship team that was headed by current Meridian coach Shannon (Rowland) Claeys.
“I think Meridian did a really nice job of playing the ball,” said Sehome coach Kristy VanEgdom referring to the third set. “We didn’t serve or pass very well in that third game, and we just lost a little bit of our focus.”
The fourth set stayed close throughout the beginning, and was tied at 13 at one point. A VanderGriend block and a kill by Aylen sparked the Mariners to grab a hold of the lead and never relinquish it. Sehome would go on to win the fourth and final set 25-18.
“We have a group of hard workers,” VanEgdom said. “Our goal is to peak at the right time. We don’t talk a lot about winning or losing, we talk about getting better, and being good leaders on and off the court.”
Hodges and Garrison each led Sehome with 12 kills. Garrison also had three blocks and Hodges had two. Sophomore setter Delaney Diehl has 32 assists and senior Lexi McGowan led with 24 digs. Hodges also chipped in with 18 digs.
The Mariners (4-8) will play host to Nooskack Valley (4-7) this Thursday evening, and Meridian (2-10) will travel to Mount Baker (0-10) to take on the Mountaineers on Thursday night.
Thank you for taking the time to come out and showcase our girls for a game!
You’re welcome! Your team played extremely well!
Thank you for coming out to a volleyball game!! Been waiting to see volleyball on this page 🙂 It was a fun match.
It was a lot of fun to cover! It was my fourth match of the year, very exciting!