MARYSVILLE — The Tomahawks finally figured out a way to beat Monroe Nov. 7, unfortunately their season ended shortly after with a loss in a loser-out match against Jackson in the Division 1 tournament.
Coming into the day, Marysville-Pilchuck needed to win both of its matches to secure one of District 1’s three state berths, but they ran out of gas in the third game of the second match.
“Once we gave (Jackson) the momentum, we couldn’t get it back,” said Marysville-Pilchuck coach Shelly Johnson. “When you play as many games as you did, it’s hard to maintain that level of play, and we’d only get it back in spurts.”
The Tomahawks played as well as any team at the tournament in shutting down Monroe in a 3-1 (18-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-23) victory after losing the first game.
Along with a more focused and perfectly positioned defense, seniors Mikayla LaRosa and Cali Cull fueled a Marysville offense that owned a 10-3 lead in each of the final three games against the Bearcats.
Earlier this year, Monroe defeated Marysville, including a season-concluding match that decided the conference champion. Marysville got the last laugh, however, as it was able to play one match longer.
“We were able to play more to Megan (Birch) and frustrate her,” Johnson said. “We served it to her a lot so she’d have to pass before hitting and she didn’t make that adjustment.”
Jackson — the top seed in the tournament — defeated Mountlake Terrace to stay alive and play for a state berth.
Exhibiting a similar fire and togetherness 45 minutes later, Marysville-Pilchuck rode perfectly placed serves to Jackson’s backline, creating a 14-7 lead and cruising to a 25-15 first game win over the Wesco – South champion. The effort was headlined by the crafty tips and hitting placement of high-flying senior Alisha Oden, racking up five kills.
The second game didn’t go as well, however, as the tall Jackson front line starting hitting and blocking. The Timberwolves dominated the net on their way to a 25-9 win in the second game.
“We just weren’t able to hit around the big block,” Johnson said.
The tournament started Nov. 5 with M-P losing to Edmonds-Woodway 3-0 to start, but staying alive with a 3-1 win over Snohomish.
After the Jackson match, Johnson talked up her seniors.
“Seniors are always important so we’re going to miss these girls because they contributed a lot for a long period of time,” she said. “But we’ve also got a lot of youth on this team and we’ll be thinking about next year soon enough.”
Click here for more photos.
