Led by the top two ranked freshmen in the state, Issaquah varsity volleyball returned to the Yakima Sun Dome for the state tournament for the first time since 2019. The Eagles were ranked eighth in the state going into the championship series, which is the highest they have been in over four years. Prior to the tournament we interviewed Senior Captain, Ashlyn Buck, freshman Molly Yoshino, and starting libero Casey Kot and learned how grateful they were for the opportunity to play at the highest level. When asked how the team was feeling about going to state, Buck said and emphasized, “Everyone is just giving it their all and everyone is just really excited to go to state.”
The team had a great postseason run taking down Lake Washington to finish third in KingCo, dominating Glacier Peak in the first round of districts to earn a spot at state, and taking down their rivals Skyline to put their team in the district championship match. Kot stated, “We all contributed a lot and played a really strong game, it was just a really fun game to be a part of.” After losing to Skyline twice in the regular season, the game was extremely memorable to the whole team.
Reflecting on the team’s playoff run and how great it has been to be a part of it, Yoshino said, “I’m just really grateful that this season has been so long, getting second in the district and qualifying for state, when we haven’t in so long.” Yoshino was one of the freshmen who had come in and helped create what looks like a bright future for Issaquah Volleyball. When asked how much the opportunity at a state title was to the returning players, Buck said “Honestly, it’s been really special, it’s the first time we’ve gotten this far before since I’ve been here.”
The whole team has really changed this year and it’s being proven every time they step on the court. Kot said, “It’s been special because we’ve been able to catch a lot of people by surprise and we’ve gotten a lot better, especially since last season. It’s been really fun beating some teams, that last year we would not have come close to beating.”
Another contributor to the opportunities for success for the team is how over-achieving the coaching has been, especially with multiple young players. Yoshino was asked how influential she felt the coaches have been to her, “We face challenges, but we’ve been able to overcome them as a team and our coaches have really been helping in doing that; picking certain drills that we can practice and fixing our mistakes that happened in the previous game, that has continued to help us improve every day”. More than just the players have seen how great the coaches have been as head coach Tami Reese was elected all KingCo coach of the year, which is truly an amazing honor to have.
Making the season as long as possible, all the players are grateful for every opportunity they have been given. As a senior, Buck hoped the team would do well to allow her to enjoy the last bit of her last season. Coming home with the state title or not, she said, “Win or lose, even if we lost our first two games, I just hope we give everything we have. Just being able to be there is so special already.”
When asked how she has felt about the playoffs so far, Yoshino stated, “Making it to state was a really big goal in the beginning of the season and accomplishing that has been a really great motivator for our team.” Hoping that the team has success and enjoys the moment at the same time, Issaquah High School sent the team off to state on Thursday, for a chance to win their first ever state title. As making it to the state tournament was the main goal at the beginning of the season and was accomplished the players are very proud of what they accomplished.
This is where their season came to an end. The team fell to Davis on Friday, three sets to zero. With a double elimination bracket, the Eagles had another chance to continue on. Running into Arlington is where the girl’s season came to an end. The team lost a competitive match, two sets to three. For the first time in five years in the state tournament, the team was very happy to just reach that point. Kot said, “The results weren’t what we were hoping for, but we still worked really hard to get there and made a lot of good memories.”
The end of one season often sparks excitement for the next, which is exactly what many of the players are feeling now. As winter sports are starting to take over, the volleyball team will meet back in the spring and summer with open gyms to prepare for next year. With three graduating seniors, and a huge junior group overall, the team could look very different in the next couple of years. “I think next year will be another really good year for us, even though we lost a few key seniors, the underclassmen are going to keep getting better,” said Kot, “and now we know more what to expect and we have that high standard for ourselves, so we can go far again.” The end of the great achieving season allowed the players to foster gratitude for the memories made, the lessons learned, and the growth achieved.
