Spartans sweep Redhawks in three sets
On Monday, Oct. 20, the Skyline Spartan girls’ volleyball team faced the Sammamish Redhawks in a match that ended with a Spartan victory in three sets.
Skyline took the early 2-0 lead thanks to back-to-back aces from outside hitter Emma Gutke. With help from Laine Buechler and Tessa Reed, the Spartans wasted no time widening the gap, 12-5. Skyline continued to add to the board and, in the end, a final block from Gutke and Reed closed the first set with a 25-19 win despite impressive defense from Redhawk Raya Hildebrand.
The second set began like the first as Skyline took an early lead,7-2. But the Redhawks, still full of energy, continued to fight. Plays from Josie Robinson and Janis Mapili-Alvis brought the Redhawks one point short of a tie with a score of 9-8. Blocks from Robinson and Viviana Mainetti for Sammamish quickly tied the score at 11-11, forcing a prolonged battle.
Continuing their momentum, the Redhawks capitalized on Spartan errors and reversed the lead with great offense from Isabella Mainetti for a come-from-behind lead change, 17-11, Sammamish advantage.
Despite losing their lead, the Spartans were determined to bounce back. It looked unlikely to turn around for Skyline when a hit from Robinson brought the Redhawks one point away from taking the set, 24-19.
Refusing to accept defeat, Gutke led the Spartans on offense when she contributed 5 unanswered points, tying the score at 24-24.
Both teams rallied, scoring back-and-forth points. But a well-timed block from Reed ended the rally, allowing a second but hard-fought 28-26 Spartan victory.
Tensions were high as the Redhawks fought to stay alive in the third set. Following the pattern set in the first two sets, the Spartans took another early lead, 6-3, on back-to-back points from Gutke.
With momentum on their side, Skyline continued to stretch their lead, 15-6 with help from Carly Maginnis with a well-placed tip on offense and a strategic block from Harley Hendrixson on defense.
The Redhawks found a temporary spark to add a few points late in the set but in the end, they just could not break the Skyline focus. A final exclamation point spike from Maginnis closed the third set, 25-14 for a clean sweep victory for the Spartans.
When asked for her assessment of the game, Maginnis had improvement plans in mind for the next match.
“For our next game, we’re looking to improve our communication on the court and be more consistent with our serves and defensive coverage. If we focus on this, we can come out stronger for our next game against Eastlake,” she said.
Coach Eddie, with an assessment of his own, said “We have been working and focusing on side out opportunities so we can find a good momentum then keep that momentum going. We are definitely playing with more momentum…and we can tell it is paying off.”
The Skyline Spartans play the Eastlake Wolves on Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. at Eastlake High School.
