MUKILTEO — Normally, Kamiak and Jackson end their regular seasons with a game against each other.
This year, however, the rivals squared off to start their 2014 campaigns.
In both teams’ season – and with the Wesco 4A’s new format, league – opener, the Kamiak volleyball team got the better of the Timberwolves with a 3-0 Wesco 4A win over Jackson Tuesday night at Kamiak High School.
“It felt like weeks and weeks and weeks we were practicing with no game and then the first game of the year we get Jackson, which was a surprise,” said Knights’ head coach Natalie Bowie. “It’s usually our last game of the year. The girls came ready to play. I feel so proud of how well they performed tonight.”
Jackson second-year coach Mindy Staudinger is still learning the Kamiak-Jackson rivalry, but said the Knights came out ready to play against the Timberwolves.
“I’m newer into this program at Jackson,” Staudinger said, “so I don’t view them as the rival that everybody else does. But for these guys, apparently Kamiak and Jackson is a pretty big rivalry, so I know that (Kamiak) is revved up when we come here to play them.”
Kamiak looked fired up from the get-go, winning the first set 25-13. The Knights continued their strong start into the second set, winning the first five points en route to a 25-11 victory that was clinched by a powerful serve by Kamiak’s Tiffany Nielson that Jackson had a hard time returning.
The Timberwolves battled in the final set, getting their biggest lead of the match at 11-7. But Kamiak won six-consecutive points to take a 13-11 lead and held off Jackson to secure the win in the Knights’ first league game of the season and their second-straight 3-0 win over the Timberwolves.
“We talked to them and we said, ‘Every game counts,’” Bowie said. “We didn’t have a jamboree, we didn’t have a tournament. It’s just the first home game. And it matters. I think they did a really, really good job.”
Kat Anderson led Kamiak with eight kills, eight digs and two aces and Katie Petterson had nine kills for the Knights (1-0 in league and overall).
Meghan Hayes added 15 digs for Kamiak.
“Kat Anderson did awesome,” Bowie said. “She did a great job of mixing up her shots. Offensively, in the front row, I think almost every time she touched the ball she got a kill. … Also, our libero, Meghan Hayes, ran the back line and played incredible defense tonight.”
Bowie was thrilled with her team’s performance in the season opener. The Kamiak coach said there was still a lot to work on, but was pleased with how tough the Knights fought against Jackson.
“Each game – the first, second and third – there’s always things to improve,” Bowie said. “You win the first game and you think, ‘OK, we need to work on this.’ There’s a lot of things to fix, of course, but I would say that I was surprised at how hard they played and how consistent their play was.
“Pleasantly surprised,” Bowie added with a laugh. “They’re just an incredible group of girls.”
Alex Crittenden had seven kills to lead Jackson (0-1, 0-1). Karlee Robison had 11 digs for the Timberwolves, which had a vocal bench the entire game.
“The first people I want to highlight are actually people that didn’t get in, so Mak Nearing and Julia Olson,” said Staudinger, whose Jackson squad will get a rematch with Kamiak on Oct. 8. “Our bench is phenomenal. They’re supportive and they cheer and they’re positive the entire match.”
Jackson looks to bounce back with a game against Snohomish Thursday night.
“We did a lot of things well,” Staudinger said. “Despite what the scoreboard said, I thought the match was closer in terms of rallies and digs. We just didn’t win them in the end. We fell short on a lot of those long rallies. But I thought we played pretty well despite the score.”
At Kamiak H.S.
Jackson 13 11 21 – 0
Kamiak 25 25 25 – 3
Highlights–Jackson: Grace Jarnagin four aces; Alex Crittenden seven kills; Karlee Robison 11 digs. Kamiak: Kat Anderson two aces, eight kills, eight digs; Katie Petterson nine kills; Meghan Hayes 15 digs. Records–Jackson 0-1 league and overall. Kamiak 1-0, 1-0.
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