Ava Schade (left) and Zephyr Woras have been lights-out on the service line and back row so far this season.
The Liberty Bell High School volleyball team traveled to Brewster last Tuesday for an evening match with the Bears, coming away with a three-set shutout victory in a match that was entertaining and competitive despite the sweep in the best of five contest, 25-18, 25-17 and 25-17.
Front row power and great play from the defensive back row delivered the win for the Lions in this non-league counting, preview match for both teams. “They looked good,” said coach Beth Blank of the Bears. “We just overpowered them this evening.”
The service line overall was also good to the Mountain Lions, as a team putting 93% (70 of 75) serves in play. Neve Kelly and Violet Darwood held down the back line defense and were on task getting the ball to the front-line setters for multiple kill attempts. On the front line, the Mountain Lions conjured up 13 blocks.
This early match does not count toward the league standings and seeding for the league championships, but did offer an early look at two of the top three teams in the Central Washington 2B League.
Liberty Bell 3, Manson 1
Perennial powerhouse Manson entered the Den on Wednesday evening for a non-league match with Liberty Bell, the result being another win for the undefeated Mountain Lions, 25-18, 25-19, 23-25 and 25-9.
It was much more competitive than many observers expected. The Mountain Lions seemed to lack an energy that had become a part of their early team chemistry. Between sets three and four, head coach Beth Blank encouraged her team to start playing like themselves. They responded with a quick and efficient fourth set.
Referring to the third set loss, only the second set loss in a regular match for the Lions this year, team captain and senior hitter Wynter Woras said, “I thought our communication wasn’t really very good … We were kind of flat on our feet, not up on our toes.”
Of the quick turnaround in the fourth set, Woras said that coach Blank “told us that we needed to stop playing like we were worse than them.”
Tonasket is expected to be the third member at the top of the league this season. The Mountain Lions and Tigers collide at Tonasket on Oct. 8. In the immediate future, Liberty Bell has a rambunctious schedule this next week. They entertain Cascade on Thursday (Oct. 1), travel to La Conner on Saturday, host Pateros on Monday and Bridgeport on Tuesday before their key match at Tonasket the following Thursday. The weekday matches are all 5 p.m. JV and 6:30 p.m. varsity start times.
