Woodinville breaks winning streak

By Dean Wong

With a four game winning streak and a spot in the playoffs locked up, the Beavers volleyball team hosted unbeaten Woodinville at home last Wednesday.

Woodinville prevailed in that test, defeating the Beavers 3 to 1 on Ballard's home court.

Before the game, head coach Tami Reese said the match up would be a test for her Beavers to see where they stand in KingCo.

The top eight KingCo teams qualify for the playoffs and Ballard is in fourth place behind Woodinville, Bothell and Eastlake. Ballard is 5-3 in league play and 7-5 overall.

Ballard's last two games of the year are against Franklin on Oct. 22 and Garfield on Oct. 24. Both are home games starting at 7:30.

"Garfield is a rival. It's our turn to win. We need to beat them this year," said Reese.

Going into the Woodinville game, Ballard had 3-0 wins over Juanita, Lake Washington and Redmond and a 3-1 win over Inglemoor.

Senior co-captain Risha Schildkraut said this was the team's first win over Inglemoor in her four years at Ballard and the team is now beating schools they have lost to in recent years.

"It has been a lot of fun, we have been winning," said Schildkraut.

Reese is pleased with being fourth in KingCo but wants to win the remaining games to move up in the standings.

"We want a high seed for the playoffs," she said.

The top two teams will host the playoffs and have home court advantage.

"They are playing together as a team. Everyone is believing in each other. The hitters are hitting hard. We are running a quicker offense this year," Reese said.

"Our passing is great. Our hitting is good. Our sets are really consistent now. We are hitting off of them real well," said co-captain Molly Moore.

All the team members are contributing. "Everyone is getting a chance to play. We are working hard in practice and we are competing. It's something we have not done in a while," said co-captain Katie Miller.

Both the coach and the players are setting a big goal for the post season.

"Our goal is to make it to state," said Reese.

Dean Wong may be reached at 783.1244 or deanw@robinsonnews.com