POULSBO — As the regular season was winding down, Sarah Holt’s return to the court was uncertain.
Holt’s ankle injury wouldn’t keep her on the bench for too long, but she didn’t have a definite return date as the Vikings prepared for postseason play.
Despite one of the varsity team’s top players being out, the Vikings remained unbeaten through the Olympic League tournament Oct. 30 to Nov. 1.
“That’s incredible,” Holt said of the Vikings’ efforts while she was out. “We’ve got so many players that we can throw in and expect them to do so well … I couldn’t be happier.”
Holt’s absence was fairly short-lived, however. The North Kitsap senior returned in time to play through the district tournament.
“I was back at Districts,” she said. “Faster than I thought.”
The Vikings became the district champions and earned the No. 1 seed to State for the first time in program history.
The Vikings continued unbeaten through the state semifinals. They lost their first match of the season to Tumwater, taking second place in the 2A State Tournament.
During the State run, Holt had 88 digs and was 16/16 serving in the semifinal match.
Joining Holt on the selection of All-League players are North Kitsap’s Brair Perez, Mareena Clotfelter, Bri Duchemin and Molly Lemmon.
Duchemin and Perez led the team in kills through State. Lemmon had the most assists in the semifinal match and the second most digs.
All-League selections
MVP: Sarah Holt
Defensive MVP: Emma LeBlanc (Sequim)
Coach of the Year: Clay Blackwood (Bremerton)
Team Sportsmanship Award: Port Angeles and Olympic
First team: Holt (NK), OH; Perez (NK), MB; Sierra Adams (Oly), OH; Alyse Armstrong (Seq), S/OP; Clotfelter (NK), S; Duchemin (NK), OH; Emily Wallner (Seq), S/OP; Emma LeBlanc (Seq), L.
Second team: Danielle Monzon (Oly), OH; Rima Miochy (Brem), OH; Mikaela Shumaker (NM), MB; Imani Frogge (Oly), MB; Audree Gormanson (KHS), S; Rylie Roberts (Seq), OH/DS.
Honorable mentions: Quincy Satran (NM), OH; Lemmon (NK), L; Asja Jackson (Brem), OH; Tucker Alexander (Brem), MB; Emily Johnson (PA), S/OH; Elizabeth DeFrang (PA), OH; Nichole Day (KHS), OH; Jamie Ninemire (Oly), L; Sydney Garrett (NM), S
