VB 2011-11-03 vs Glacier Peak

Last Thursday, the Wildcat volleyball team met up with the Glacier Peak Grizzlies for the third time this season, and for the third time this season, it was a 5-game nailbiter. Adding to the stress was that the winner would move on for a possible trip to the state tournament, the losers would have their season end.

Game one was tight early, but halfway through the Grizzlies took control by going on a 6-1 run and winning 25-15.

The Wildcats grabbed an early 3-0 lead in game 2, but GP tied it at 4. Later, Oak Harbor had a small 9-6 lead until setter Taylor Nienhuis went to the service line and built the lead to 13-6. Game 2 ended with OH on top 25-18, tying the match at 1 game each.

Game 3 seemed like it would never end. Neither team had much of a lead, but two late kills by Glacier Peak gave them game three 32-30.

OH lead for almost all of game four, and although GP closed late, kills by Kelsey Rankin and Janine DeGuzman made it 25-21 for the Wildcats and again tying the match.

In the 5th and deciding game, OH came out flat and never really got going, especially since they were without Roshel Muzzall, who left game 4 with a knee injury. Glacier Peak won game five 15-7, eliminating Oak Harbor from the District Tournament. Glacier Peak went on to win all of their matches on Saturday and will go to the state tournament along with Meadowdale.

The Wildcats had a very successful season, finishing with a 9-2 record in league play, coming in second place, and 11-6 overall.

While the 'Cats are losing Christina Alexander, Lizzy Chase and Janine DeGuzman to graduation, the team will return juniors Taylor Nienhuis, Hannah Salmons, Amanda Pavey, Roshel Muzzall, Ally McGuire and Kelsey Rankin along with 6-2 sophomore Kayleigh Harper. The team also expects Ashley Johnston, Stephanie Milliron and Hannah Christensen to move up from the JV squad.

Video highlights are HERE

Over 100 photos are HERE.

Volleyball update

Last week the Volleyball team had two matches, one at last place Mountlake Terrace and one at home against second-to-last Lynnwood.

At MLT, both the JV and Freshmen won their first two games and dropped the 3rd game.

Varsity did the opposite. The got down early in the first game and down 18-24, were able to pull within 3 points when MLT got the game point to win 25-21.

In the 2nd game the Wildcats led early 3-0 and built their lead to 10-4 but it wasn't enough at the Hawks tied the game at 19 and went on to win 25-22.

With their backs against the wall and little room for error, and with a playoff spot on the line, our girls dug in and found a way to win. The dominated the Hawks for the rest of the match, winning game 3 25-14, game 4 25-16 and the final game 15-12, ending the match with an exclamation point - a big Roshel Muzzall kill.

Thursday our girls hosted the Lynnwood Royals. The Royals were able to pull out JV and Freshman wins, but that was it.

Game 1 of varsity was a back-and-forth affair until the Wildcats built a 16-12 lead after 4 straight points by Kristine Bouchard followed up by a Katelyn Bristow service ace, forcing a Lynnwood timeout. Strong front row play by Muzzall and Janessa Ramos increased the OH lead to 22-14 when the Royals started to creep back into the game. Lynnwood closed the score to 24-20 but a service error ended the game in Oak Harbor's favor, 25-20.

Game 2 was all Wildcats as starting with a 5-5 score, the girls slowly pulled away, ending the game with a tip by setter Jordan Faralan.

Game 3 could have gone either way, as neither team could build more than a 3-point lead, but Lynnwood captured the game on a Wildcat hitting error, 26-24.

Determined to win a playoff spot, the Wildcats went to work in game 4, systematically dismantling the Lynnwood attack. Ramos sealed with win with a big kill. Final score Oak Harbor 25, Lynnwood 19 in game 4, Wildcats winning 3-1.

With the win the Wildcats earned a playoff spot, but seeding is still to be determined. Tonight, Monday, is senior night as the Wildcats face off against Glacier Peak, currently tied with OH. The girls then finish the regular season Wednesday at an always hostile Everett High School gym - The Pit.

HERE are video highlights from the Terrace match, including some Freshman action

HERE are Lynnwood highlights.

Click HERE for 81 Mountlake Terrace photos

77 Lynnwood photos are HERE.

Volleyball 2010-10-14 vs Shorewood

With just 4 matches left in the 2010 season, the OHHS volleyball team is still in the playoff hunt. Sitting at 3-3 with just 4 matches left, the girls are in good shape. Two of the remaining matches are against the bottom two teams in the conference, Mountlake Terrace (1-5) and Lynnwood (2-4). The other two are at #2 Everett and Glacier Peak, with whom the Wildcats are currently tied.

The cause wasn't helped much Thursday night in the match against the Shorewood Thunderbirds. In the first game, the Wildcats jumped out to a 6-1 lead, but Shorewood fought back and tied the game at 16 then went on to build a 24-19 lead. Oak Harbor wasn't out yet, as kills by Roshel Muzzal and Janessa Ramos along with a great block by Ramos brought the Wildcats to within 1, 23-24 when a T-bird kill ended the first match 23-25.

Oak Harbor woke up halfway through game 2. Down 3-10, the girls came roaring back behind a nice overpass kill by Freshman Kayleigh Harper and a pair of back-to-back kill by Ramos. Two kills by "Big Blue" Amanda Blau brought Oak Harbor to within 1 point, 12-13, and from there it was all OH. Harper had multiple blocks during one rally which ended with game point for the Wildcats and a T-bird in the net gave game 2 to OH 25-17.

Game 3 was a close, back-and-forth game with no more than 3 points separating the two teams until late in the match when Shorewood was able to put the game away 25-20.

Down 2-1 in the match, the Wildcats needed to win game 4 and they did, but it wasn't easy. After moving out to a 4-0 early lead, Shorewood crept back and tied the game at 9, but never led and a solo block by Kristine Bouchard, and dink kill by Mandy Kepner and final kill by Ramos won the game for the Wildcats 25-19.

The girls led early in the 5th and final game, 3-1, but Shorewood stayed with the 'Cats and slowly pulled away to win the game 15-10 and the match 3-2. The final game featured an exceptionally long rally, lasting nearly a full minute (most volleyball action is over in about 10 seconds).

On Saturday, the varsity team was at Mt. Vernon high school for an all-day tournament. The Wildcats, missing senior setter Jordan Faralan who was at the University of Washington for academic work, finished 3rd in pool play then went on to win the silver division. Sophomore Taylor Nienhuis stepped up to take setting duties and Freshman Kayleigh Harper had a lot of playing time.

Video highlights from the varsity match, including 2 clips from the Freshman match, are posted HERE.

40 JV photos are posted HERE

HERE are 69 varsity photos

29 Mt. Vernon Tourney photo are HERE

Volleyball 2010-10-04 vs Everett

While the JV football team was dominating on the field, the JV volleyball team was dominating in the gym. The JV girls stumbled a bit in the first set, losing to the Seagulls 21-25, but rallied to win the next two by 25-18 scores.

The freshman team also won their match, winning 25-21 in the first set and getting the close 27-25 victory in the 2nd.

The varsity match was nothing if not exciting. Oak Harbor won the first set 26-24 but had problems in the 2nd and 3rd sets, losing 22-25 and 16-25. They rallied to win the 4th set 25-19 to tie the match and played a close 5th and deciding set before falling 12-15.

The loss creates a 4-way tie at the top of the WESCO 3A league. The Wildcats travel to one of those schools, Meadowdale, Wednesday.

107 photos of the Varsity team in action are posted HERE.

A short video clip of the varsity match is HERE.

Volleyball 2010-09-21 Arlington

It was "Dig for the Cure" night last Tuesday as the Wildcat Volleyball team hosted the Arlington Eagles in their 2nd home match of the year. Both teams wore pink T-shirts instead of their usual team jerseys in support of breast cancer.

In the dome, the Freshmen lost a close 25-27 set then demolished the Eagles 25-8 to tie the match before falling 20-25 in the 3rd.

At the same time, the JV team was having problems in the main gym. They found themselves down 4-11 early in the first set before a time out called by coach Rick Swankie settled them down. The girls chipped away at the Eagle lead until Amanda Pavey dug the ball across the net for a point and a tie set at 19. Late in the set the Eagles were looking at set point, 24-23, but a service error tied it back up. Taylor Nienhuis tapped her set across the net to set up set point for the 'Cats, but an OH service error tied it back up at 25. An Eagle hitting error gave the advantage to Oak Harbor and Hannah Salmons put the set away with a big kill.

The 2nd set went back and forth early with Oak Harbor on the short end of the score most of the time. That was until three straight service aces by Pavey put the Wildcats up 13-11. The set was still close until late, when Lizzy Chase had two service aces of her own to finish the set 25-22 in the Wildcat's favor, and winning the match 2-0.

In the 3rd, non-counting set, Arlington was able to pull out a 25-22 win.

The varsity squad came out a little sluggish to start their math, but with the set tied at 21, Oak Harbor reeled off 4 straight points, ending with a pair of Kelsey Terrazas-Cooley service aces to win 25-21.

In the 2nd set, the varsity team got hot early. Behind kills by Amanda Blau and Katelyn Bristow, the Wildcats zoomed ahead 12-4. Arlington didn't give up but was never in this set as the Wildcats finished it off with a kill by Blau to win 25-11.

The 3rd set went to the Eagles as OH was not able to generate much offense. Terrazas-Cooley had a pair of aces and a kill, Janessa Ramos had a pair of kills and Kristine Bouchard added a single kill, but that was about it for earned points in the set. Final score 25-17 for Arlington.

It was more back-and-forth action early in the 4th set, with the score tied at 7. A Bristow kill and two Roshel Muzzall service aces put the Wildcats ahead for good 10-7. Oak Harbor commanded the remainder of the match. Christina Alexander came off the bench to earn 3 of the final 5 OH points with service aces while Ramos smacked down a nice Jordan Faralan set to give OH a 25-15 lead and a 3-1 match win.

151 photos from the night are posted HERE.

Video highlights are posted HERE.