Volleyball coach CJ Scott was ecstatic to have four freshmen suiting up for varsity on his 2023 squad at South Kitsap, hopeful that an offseason dedicated to furthering their skills and team chemistry would keep them moving in the right direction.
That work is paying off via a 3-0 start, including its first home victory of the season, a 25-15, 25-23, 25-20 sweep of North Kitsap that marked the Wolves’ first win over the Vikings since 2016. “They might be a year earlier than I thought they would be as far as how we’re doing, which is awesome,” Scott said. “It’s a fun group, they work hard and get along.”
Attacks from sophomores Maggie Yearout and Angelique Bernard had the Wolves rolling early, while sophomore Payton Elmore played the role of libero in place of Liah Lauifi, who was sidelined with a high-ankle sprain.
Two Viking timeouts could not slow the momentum in the first set, and while NK pulled closer in the final two sets and even took brief leads, the Wolves continued to thrive on a strong net presence and a 6-2 rotation headed by junior and sophomore setters Leilani Killian and Savannah Browning. “There’s always the chance we go to a 5-1, but right now, they are such good all-around players that I don’t want to take them away from the other things they do so well,” Scott said. “Utilizing all their talents just fits us better right now.”
Case in point, Killian would lead her team in kills on the night with seven out of 14 attempts, followed by Yearout with six and Bernard with five. Bernard and Browning would combine for seven of the Wolves’ 11 blocks in the match, and the team as a whole came up with 40 digs.
Scott attributed the success to the work done in previous months. “We have a lot of kids playing year-round right now. A lot of them are playing together in the club season, and it really makes a difference. They put a lot of time in with us over the summer, three days a week, and it’s paying off.”
Despite the loss, slow starts are nothing new for the Vikings. The Sept. 11 contest marked the third straight season NK had lost its opening match, and last year’s squad suffered four straight defeats before making its run to the top of the 2A Olympic League.
NK coach Kealea Makaiwi commended her 4A opponents but said the loss did not concern her. “We worked through some things and had a couple of kids that were injured. No excuses, but some kids in some new places doing some different things. I’m proud of what they did,” she said.
The Vikings are looking to their core of five seniors—including captains Fendi Dowlearn, Teegan DeVries and Addy La Tour—to lead them to state for the 11th-straight season.
“Addy is silent, but she goes out there and will just show up and hit a big ball and is also very wise,” Makaiwi said. “Teegan is really intense, a fighter, and that’s what I like about her, and Fendi as our setter is the quarterback of the team. Each of them knows when to step up and say the right things and when to silently push from the back.”
Makaiwi was especially pleased with her team’s defense in the final two sets. “Very minor things to work on. Nothing huge after all that,” she said.
