The last time South Kitsap took a set from Curtis, the Wolves’ sole senior of 2024 was not yet a high schooler and the idea of a state berth often appeared distant at best.

It might have been fitting then, flashing forward from that 2019 season to SK’s regular season home final Oct. 23, for standout Mercy McGaughey to show Curtis and the rest of the South Puget Sound League that this year’s team was nothing like the Wolves of old. “Every year, we’ve had so much drama,” she said. “This year, it’s different. Everybody has such a great attitude and loves each other, and the team has so much more chemistry.”

The Wolves could not keep the No. 1 Vikings from remaining perfect on the year in the 3-1 loss (18-25, 25-22, 9-25, 20-25), but the one win in the Wolves column, just the fourth set dropped by Curtis all year, was special to the coach, whose team had its first winning season since joining the SPSL. “We’ve shown some stretches, and other than that third set, we were right there the whole night,” coach CJ Scott said. “We needed that good competition and to take a set, it was really good.”

Scott’s squad gave Curtis about as much effort as it could exert, working its way to a 15-15 tie before dropping the first set, leading by as much as seven in the second and shaking off a bad third to stay within striking distance of forcing a fifth set.

Scott credited the crowd on Senior Night and his squad’s effort to explain what the team could become going forward. “There are teams, the Puyallups and the Olympias, where we went and just didn’t play our best. We know that we can beat these teams, and we just got to play with that intensity every night,” he said.

Sophomore Maggie Yearout led SK with seven kills, followed by sophomores Angelique Bernard and Savannah Browning with six each. McGaughey played a good all-around match, leading her team with a dozen digs while recording four kills and a pair of service aces.

With the regular season winding down, the Wolves are back in position to make a run at state. “The goal all year has been to get to state. So much of the top talent is in our league, and only so many can go to state. We’re gonna have work to do, but it’s absolutely doable,” Scott said.

SK sophomore libero Payton Elmore bumps a ball into the air to her setter.