On Oct. 7, 2024, the Issaquah Eagles varsity girls’ volleyball took on the Bothell Cougars in a match best of five sets at home. Going into Monday night’s game, Issaquah had a winning record of eleven wins and only two losses. This conference game has a bigger impact on the team’s overall record and will remain important in playoff rankings. The King County conference has proved to have many strong teams in the past, producing teams that tend to go far in the postseason. Issaquah has been towards the middle of the rankings in the past, however this year is looking a little different thanks to nine new additions to the roster that have made a significant impact. Sophomore Casey Kot said, “I’m really looking forward to playing playoffs and districts because I think we have a really good shot of going deep this year compared to last year.” The team is currently second in the overall 4A KingCo rankings. Many players are continuing to make a huge impact on the court, as the team powerfully overtook Bothell on Monday in three sets.
Issaquah won the coin toss and took the first serve. Senior Ashlyn Buck gave Issaquah momentum right out of the gates with an ace on the first serve that turned into a six to zero serving run. It did not take long for Issaquah’s defense to get the ball back for freshman Bryn Walcott to go on a three to zero serving run at the line with two aces, continuing to prove Issaquah’s reputation as a strong serving team. Head coach Tami Reese said, “Little things that we’ve been working on at practice we saw here.” Issaquah kept a comfortable lead throughout the set thanks to multiple points from the serves of freshman Molly Yoshino and Kot. “We played well and worked as a team,” said Walcott. The Eagles finished off the first set 25-11 after big digs and great net play all around.
Issaquah had great momentum going into the second with an opening kill by Walcott lighting energy into the whole team. “Everyone on the team is very dedicated and they just love the sport,” said senior captain Bridget Philipsen. Many players are saying how different the team environment is and how they all have a strong passion for the game. “The team dynamic is a lot more connected and we’re all just one big family,” said Kot. Yoshino had strong defense and huge net play throughout the set. The 5’4” freshman had a huge block in the set. The set started much closer than the first, as Bothell tied it at four. A kill by Yoshino out of the back row stole the momentum back for the Eagles. Long rallies occurred more often, as Kot had multiple diving saves in the backrow, keeping the score close. After Bothell took the lead 10-8, Philipsen put Issaquah back in front from the serving line. Walcott collected five more kills from the net, and Kot remained a strong server gathering eight more points and three aces for the team. Issaquah went up two sets to zero after taking the second set 25-17.
Another kill out of the back row by Yoshino, allowed Issaquah to score first in the third set. Buck continued to set up hitters collecting 25 total assists on the match. “Ashlyn has been on varsity three years and really grown as a player,” said Philipsen. The freshmen proved valuable throughout the whole match and especially the third set. In total the two freshmen scored over thirty of the team’s points on Monday. When asked about this year’s freshman, head coach Reese said, “They are good volleyball players and they’re just going to get better. They have the heart in it.” Smiles came out on many of the players’ faces, as defense and offense remained dominant over the Cougars. Juniors Brooke Marshall and Ellie Restad collected multiple kills from the right side of the net. A kill down the line for Walcott closed out the third set 25-18, and Issaquah took their 12th win of the season. Kot had a total of 17 digs from the backrow, and Yoshino had particularly good serve receive with over 16 receptions. “I feel like it was really good for us to have a clean game,” said Kot. The team moves on to play a big conference game at Sammamish next Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, Currently second overall, continuing to win these big games will help the team as they move closer to playoffs.