Shadle climbs past Mt. Spokane
Shadle Park’s volleyball team had never beaten Mt. Spokane during Sara Lewis’ watch as the Highlanders setter.
Never, that is, until Tuesday’s four-game victory in her third try that kept the Highlanders (6-1) tied for second place with Lewis and Clark in the Greater Spokane League, while dropping the Wildcats (5-2) into fourth place by themselves.
Lewis had a big hand in the 23-25, 25-23, 25-15 27-25 victory, particularly in the third game, when coach Brooke Cooper changed offenses and changed the flow of the match.
“We went to a 5-1,” Cooper said. “Sometimes in tight games our senior leadership has to step up and their experience gets it done.”
The offense uses one setter instead of two, which helped senior Lewis direct the flow and enabled Shadle to win in the one dominant game of the four.
Still, it took a huge rally from a 12-5 deficit in the final game and a couple of extra points at the end to break a 25-all tie that produced victory for the first time in Lewis’ three varsity seasons.
“We finally got our win against them,” Lewis said. “It was a sweet victory. And it was a team victory that’s for sure.”
The Highlanders struggled to find continuity in the previous two games. The Wildcats ran off five straight points to rally from an 8-7 deficit in the first game, and again came back from a 19-15 deficit by outscoring the home team 10-4 down the stretch – thanks to two kills each by Lauren Schneidmiller and Alicia Shipp.
Likewise, Shadle trailed 19-16 before Lewis served eight straight points and Renee Before had three straight kills for a 24-19 lead.
“Renee really took over in the middle,” Cooper said.
Still, a four-point Wildcats rally, again fueled by Schneidmiller, who finished the night with 12 kills and 15 digs, kept Cooper’s heart racing.
Behind Lewis’ setting, her team looked unbeatable in the third game, but in the clincher Mt. Spokane broke a 5-all tie on the serving of Megan Blomquist and imposing presence of 6-foot sophomore middle Caitlin Barschig, a recent varsity addition.
Cooper countered with a pair of sophomores, Tristen Kelly and Brianne Brown, and it seemed to settle the Highlanders. Two service possessions later, by Lexi Bishop and Brynn Delong, and they had the match tied at 13.
From there, it went back and forth before Delong’s clutch kill and a hitting mistake by Mt. Spokane ended the tension.
“They’re the team that knocked us out of the playoffs last year when we were up two games to none and they won the next three,” said Cooper. “We needed this one to prove to ourselves we can finish a game like this.”
Mt. Spokane coach John Reid said that games with Shadle are always a battle and his team didn’t execute as well as it has.
“Every night you have to come ready to play and tonight we just weren’t on our game,” he said.
Mead remains unbeaten and in first place. Central Valley, Gonzaga Prep, University and Ferris are all tied for fifth place at 4-3.
Elsewhere, host North Central (3-4) upset CV in five games, rallying from a 21-25, 19-25 deficit for 25-14, 25-22, 17-15 victories. Anna Walters had 11 kills, Whitney Buck 34 assists, and Kristina Conley added 14 digs and two service aces. Ashley Roberts had 34 digs for the CV … U-Hi swept East Valley (2-5) at home, 25-16, 25-21, 25-19. U-Hi’s Ashlee Lupfer had 11 kills and five aces. … Ferris won at West Valley (3-4), 25-15, 25-9, 21-25, 25-21. Kara Caparoso served 11 straight points in the second game and had 13 digs for the Saxons. Maddy Lorenz added 16 kills and three aces. … Gonzaga Prep traveled to beat Clarkston (0-7) 25-17, 25-21, 25-10; Mead (7-0) topped visiting Rogers (0-7) 25-3, 25-17, 25-11; and LC won at home, 25-11, 25-11, 25-14 over Cheney (1-6).