MARYSVILLE — An improved Arlington volleyball team pushed M-P to four sets, but the Tomahawks won 3-1 in the Oct. 7 league opener.
“It’s nice to finally have a league match,” said M-P coach Shelly Johnson, as the teams get into their eight-game season schedule. League got underway a little later than originally planned due to a postseason scheduling problem. But the Tomahawks made the most of it, she said. “We had a lot of time to practice and get better.”
Only the second game was very hotly contested between the teams as M-P won 25-13, 29-27, 16-25, 25-14.
The Tomahawks built a big lead early in the first game. Senior setter Brittany Fitzmaurice served six points, earning an ace in the process as M-P widened a 6-4 lead to 12-4. Arlington would get no closer than within seven points of the Tomahawks for the rest of the first game.
Game two proved an entirely different matter as neither team led by more than three points the entire time. Though Marysville led 19-16 and 22-19 in the late going, Arlington hitters Kenzie Jorgenson and Bree Covey closed that second gap, scoring a tying and go-ahead point. But even though Arlington led as late at 27-26, it was Marysville who scored the last three points in a row to seize the game-two victory.
The third game was almost all Arlington as the Eagles went on a 19-5 run for most of the game to rally from down five points to a 25-16 win.
The fourth was all Marysville. Between kills by hitters Emily Boerger and Mikayla LaRosa and blocks by Boerger, LaRosa and Jenna Welsh, the Tomahawks pulled away early from a 5-5 tie to win by an 11-point margin.
Senior libero Jadelyn Thompson, who had 26 digs, credited the Tomahawks’ winning effort to their team dynamic.
“I think we had a lot of energy,” she said, adding, “Even when we weren’t on, we really supported each other.”
Welsh led the offense for the Tomahawks, hitting the ball down the line and accumulating 18 kills on the night. LaRosa added 12 more while Fitzmaurice had 39 assists. Covey had 11 kills and Jorgenson nine for Arlington.
