AUBURN - True tenacity was on display in a Friday, November 6, loser-out match of the 2009 West Central District III/Southwest IV bi-district volleyball tournament.

Two endangered species squared off at the Mountainview High School auxiliary gym until the John F. Kennedy Catholic Lancers had eliminated the Highline Pirates, 23-25, 25-16, 25-21 and 25-23.

“We just played hard and pumped each other up,” an exhilarated Lauren Zilke declared. “We had to pick up our energy after each point.”

All-out warfare typified the struggle of teams on the edge of elimination from the tournament.

Closely-contested play chronicled the first game with 13 ties occurring before Highline broke through for two consecutive points and a 21-19 lead.

From that point, the teams exchanged point for point in a tense finish. Lynette Owusu eventually pounded home the winning point for the Pirates, ending a thrilling skirmish. Owusu was joined by Silia Ngauamo against Lancer players Lauren Zilke and Jenny Neudorfer as prominent figures on the front row while the Pirates used strong defense.

Kennedy led only 5-4 in game two before Vivienne McClean and Erin Gosseen teamed with Zilke in an 8-1 JFK surge. With a 13-5 margin estbalished, the Lancers ballooned their lead to 19-6 en route to the win.

“We saw Lynette hitting left, so we moved our blocking to try and take her out of the game,” explained Zilke.

Back and forth battling brought the squads to a 21-21 deadlock in the third game. Consecutive blocks by McClean and Neudorfer, respectively, were the catalysts for a 4-0 Kennedy climb to victory.

The third game was a prelude to another tight and fantastic finish.

With tournament elimination one game loss away, Highline dug in to keep the match close. Tough serving and scoring placements enabled the Lancers to transform a 14-13 wafer-thin lead to 17-13 and 21-14 dominations.

Resurgent Highline strung together six consecutive points to draw within 22-21. Neither wanted to yield. Kennedy scored a single tally for a 23-21 advantage and exchanged single points with the Pirates until the Lancers prevailed.

Highline’s effort left its head coach Amy Porter exhausted.

“This was a team effort and our players never gave up,” she said. “Lynette played great as always. All the players did a great job and played hard to the very end.”

For Kennedy Catholic, Leah Bowie had one ace and 10 digs while Agnes Eneliko earned two assists, seven digs, three kills and five stuff blocks. Erin Gosseen collected eight kills. Katie key passed for 36 assists and had 16 digs. Vivienne McClean was strong with 13 digs, 17 kills and four stuff blocks. Jenny Neudorfer posted three digs, five kills and six blocks to go along with Lauern Zilke’s seven digs and 10 kills.

The Pirate effort featured 24 kills and 19 digs by Lynette Owusu. Samantha Erben shined defensively with 18 digs while setter Tori Fesili dished out 28 assists.

Capital sent Highline into the loser-out bracket by defeating the Pirates 25-20, 25-13 and 25-6 in the opening round. Highline stayed tough in the first game. The next two games proved to be harrowing journeys for the Pirates. Grabbing early control, the Cougars from West Olympia were never seriously threatened.

Columbia River was the nemesis that defeated Kennedy 25-16, 19-25, 25-20 and 25-22 to deal the Lancers into the loser-out gauntlet.
Leading 7-4 in game one, the Lancers took the brunt of a Chieftain assault that accounted for nine consecutive points. Columbia River power hitting nullified Kennedy Catholic throughout the game.

Diving digs and set plays ignited a 9-1 Lancer scoring salvo to turn an 11-10 deficit into a 19-12 JFK lead. Strong serving brought the Chieftains back within 19-17. At this crucial juncture, Key collaborated with Zilke for two consecutive kills. Columbia River matched the 2-0 run before Zilke’s hitting and a big serve from McClean carried the Lancers to the win.

In the third game, a 6-2 scoring salvo put the Chieftains into the driver’s seat at 21-16 which was enough to set up the triumph.

Competition stayed even until 12-12 in the fourth game. The Lady Chieftains grabbed a 15-12 lead on the Lady Lancers. Kennedy closed within 15-14. It was a 5-2 Columbia River scoring advantage  that Key, McClean and Zilke countered for a 20-20 tie. Back came CR for a 22-20 lead. Neudorfer scored for the Lancers, but Kennedy never drew closer than two points the rest of the way.

“The team played well,” said JFK head coach Tom Muckerheide. “We served well. Vivienne and Lauren were good on offense.”

Bowie earned nine digs and two kills to complement Eneliko’s one ace, 10 digs and two kills. Key passed for 39 assists with eight digs, six kills, three stuff blocks and one ace. McClean served two aces while also collecting 15 digs, 17 kills and three stuffs. Zilke hustled for 10 digs, 14 kills and one ace.

On Saturday in a do-or-die match up for both teams, Timberline survived a gutty Kennedy Catholic effort to bump the Lancers out of the tournament, 3-1. Game scores were 25-20, 25-15, 20-25 and 25-13.

Front row blocking and hitting catapulted the Blazers to leads of up to nine points on the road to the first game win. The Lancers rallied late to close within 24-20, but the earlier holes were just too deep to navigate despite Zilke’s inspired hustling for the Lancers.

Timberline added superb serving to its front row prowess to widen a 15-12 second game lead into a 19-12 command that settled the issue.

Weathering the Blazer ball movement, the Lancers showed resilience in game three. Five tie scores got the teams to a 19-19 draw after McClean’s clean kill. McClean continued being the catalyst for Kennedy by following with a service ace. Two consecutive Timberline hits that went out of bounds led up to McClean’s kill that gave the Lancers a 23-19 margin. The Blazers scored a point that was countered with a wide Timberline serve and Zilke’s stuff block.

An early Lancer lead went by the boards in the fourth game. Timberline seized a 14-6 advantage on an 8-0 run and tacked on a 4-0 surge for a 22-11 lead in later action. Super serving and the return of the Blazers’ big hitting keyed the elimination of the Lancers.

“Our season went pretty well,” observed McClean, who finished with one ace, 15 digs and 15 kills. “We joined together as a team and put everything out there. It’s not just a matter of whether you win or lose as long as you go out fighting. With Jennica (McPherson) out, we just picked up our intensity in the third game. We knew we could increase the intensity.”

Teammate Jenny Neudorfer contributed three aces, two digs, four kills and three blocks.

“We’re really athletic and in good condition,” she declared. “It’s disappointing to lose. We played really well and dealt with a lot of things. Losing Jennica was an eye-opening experience. We stepped it up to make it this far. Now we know what we need to do to reach a higher level. We still won league and got this far. Next year, we’ll have almost the entire team back with Jennica.”

Graduating only one player, Kennedy Catholic figures to contend strongly for state honors next season.

“The girls played with a lot of effort,” said coach Muckerheide. “They left everything they had out there on the floor. There’s no second guessing because they gave 100 percent. Tournament experience without Jennica made the girls understand what kind of effort is needed at higher levels of competition. I wish they could have gotten a little longer taste of it, but next year looks great and I’m looking forward to it.”

Other Lancers added to the team effort against Timberline.

Leah Bowie had 14 digs while Agnes Eneliko served one ace with 15 digs and two blocks  Katie Key earned one ace, 34 assists and 14 digs in tandem with Lauren Zilke’s ace, 12 digs, 13 kills and one block.

For the season, including all tournaments, leading ace servers were McPherson (66), Key (65), Zilke (57), McClean (51) and Neudorfer (43).

Key dished out 785 assists. Bowie (233), Key (191), McClean (179) and Zilke (171) led in digs. McPherson led the kill counts with 279 followed by McClean (255) and Zilke (180). Neudorfer’s 64 stuff blocks led the Lancers.