MILL CREEK — When looking at the final score of Jackson’s volleyball match with Kamiak on Monday it looks as though it was moderately competitive match.
Those who were in attendance know it was much more than that.
Jackson won the match 3-1 by set scores of 25-22, 20-25, 25-17 and 26-
24.
“It felt closer,” Kamiak head coach Natalie Bowie said. “That’s what’s fun when you play a team that’s great and is kind of evenly matched, it’s just point for point the whole way through.”
Jackson head coach Ashley Allen said that playing Kamiak, or any other good team for that matter, is good for the Timberwolves.
“They are a really good team,” Allen said. “Bryce and Ally are a really good combination. It’s good to play a team like that because they really showed some of our weaknesses and definitely give us something to work on. We don’t get an opportunity to play that many teams like Kamiak and that is really what prepares us for state. If we didn’t play them we wouldn’t know what we need to work on. A lot of other teams we can get away with errors. We can get away with not closing the block or letting a couple of tips drop. You can’t against this team.”
The Timberwolves (4-0 league, 9-1 overall) are currently ranked fourth in the Washington Schools Coaches Association coaches’ poll with the Knights ninth, and both teams played like top-10 teams and appeared to get stronger as the match went on.
The first set featured 12 ties and eight lead changes, but Jackson’s Emmy Allen proved to be too much for the Knights. Allen finished the set with six kills, including the one that sealed the set.
But Kamiak (3-1, 9-1) came to play and didn’t lose any of the intensity that it had maintained throughout the first set. Led by Bryce Larson, the Knights evened the match with a convincing second set win. Larson had seven kills in the set.
Larson finished the match with 24 kills and 15 digs. Her teammate Ally Bowles finished with 32 assists.
In the final sets, Jackson had the difference-maker in junior Miah Diirell. Diirell picked up her level of intensity in the matches’ final two sets and gave Allen the help she needed to push the Timberwolves over the top. Diirell delivered six of her 16 kills in the third set and the Timberwolves took a 2-1 lead.
Diirell had missed some time recently with a concussion, but was back at full strength on Monday.
“I’m thinking I should sit her more often,” Allen said. “Miah is one of those girls that never wants to be on the bench. She is very competitive and very driven.”
Diirell had 19 digs to go along with her 16 kills, Allen had 23 kills and Haley MacDonald had 48 assists.
Kamiak appeared poised to force a fifth set jumping out to an early lead in Game 4. But the Timberwolves stayed right on their heels and finally took their first lead of the set at 15-14, setting the stage for a great finish. Jackson appeared to have taken control with an 18-16 lead, but Kamiak regrouped after a timeout, reeling of three straight points to take a 19-18 lead. That prompted Allen to call a timeout and just like the Knights, Jackson responded by scoring three of the next four points to take a 21-20 lead. The teams alternated points until Jackson held a 23-22 lead. But Larson scored back-to-back kills for Kamiak setting up set point. The Knights thought they had won the fourth set when Larson blocked a Jackson kill attempt and the ball bounced on the Timberwolves’ side of the net, but an official said the ball landed out of bounds and Jackson stayed alive in the set.
And the final run would belong to Jackson. The Timberwolves scored three straight points, highlighted by Katie Thompson’s ace that closed out the match.
“They are great and we just look forward to playing them every single time, so a win like that is huge for us,” Emmy Allen said.
“Jackson’s a great team,” Bowie said. “They are fighters and they have big hitters, but we came to play with them tonight. And our girls played great and they fought hard.”
The two teams will face each other again in the final match of the season on Oct. 26 at Kamiak High School.
Players and coaches from both teams are already looking forward to the rematch.
“We love playing tough games and great competition and teams that make us better,” Bowie said. “We knew it was going to be really tough going in. So, yeah, we are really excited. We are ready for the 26th.”
“It should be a great match again, and we will be practicing with them in mind a lot,” Emmy Allen said.
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