“KINGSTON – Poulsbo 1, Kingston 0. The matchup between Poulsbo and Kingston Junior High in any sport is contentious. This year, Poulsbo has started the year ahead after the Panthers volleyball team beat the Cavaliers three games to zero. The score of all three games was 15-10, and the three games saw a strong all-around game by the Panthers. Poulsbo jumped out to a lead in the first game, at one point leading 9-6, but Kingston, as they would all afternoon, battled back. An ace by Lacey Black made it 9-7. Black made two more serves for points, with the last one being returned into the ceiling, to tie the game at nine. But again Poulsbo surged ahead. With Jamie Heins serving, they reeled off four straight points, one coming when Kailey Kuehl’s return just made it over the net before hitting the ground. Kingston managed another point on Annie Moises’ ace before Poulsbo took the first game. Poulsbo looked equally strong in the first portion of the second game. With Lydia Moore serving, they made three straight points, two on aces, before the serve was broken. Kingston came back and tied it 3-3, then took the lead at 4-3. The two teams remained close, trading points throughout the rest of the game. Annie Moises slapped a ball over the net for a point for Kingston; Lydia Moore spiked an ace for a point for Poulsbo. But Poulsbo scored more in the end, surging out to win the second game by the same score as the first, 15-10. In the third game, Kingston took the lead. With Liz Tomzyck serving early in the game, Kingston took a 4-1 lead before the serve was broken. The lead climbed up to 7-1 before Poulsbo began inching back. With Lydia Moore serving, Poulsbo garnered several points. Moore got an ace, then two Kingston returns went wide. Kingston had climbed within two before Moore’s serve was broken. Poulsbo got the ball back immediately (on a play by Moore), but the teams managed to trade the ball a few more times before Toni Duchemin began serving. With Duchemin serving underhand, the Panthers earned a point. Then another. Then another. They held a 10-7 lead when she was done and from there went on to win the third game by the same score as the first two, 15-10. Afterwards Panthers coach Jo Fortenbacher said, I felt they played really great. It was more of a team effort (than our last game, a 3-0 victory over Ridgetop). We had to earn our points, and the girls played hard all the way through. Some of those girls were Jamie Heins and Kailey Kuehl, both of whom were aggressive at the net, Fortenbacher said. Heins also served well, she added, but the whole team earned praise: They all contributed, she said. For Kingston coach Tim French, the game was about learning. We’ve got to work on some fundamentals, French said after the game. One of those fundamentals will be communication skills (many passes were made without recipients, or balls dropped between players). It’s good to play against a higher-quality team. Then you know what to work on, French said. Other than that, I’m pretty proud, he added. “