Wildcats come from behind to grab win | Volleyball

Published 9:29 am Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Spurred by a raucous student rooting section, the Oak Harbor High School volleyball team rebounded from a 2-0 deficit to trip Arlington 3-2 at home Monday, Sept. 21.

The win was the first in four regular-season matches for the Wildcats and evened Oak Harbor’s Wesco record to 1-1. Arlington fell to 1-3 (0-2).

“I am really proud of them for being mentally ready to play,” coach Kerri Molitor said in regard to her team’s effort after a tiring week of travels. The Wildcats went to Lynnwood Thursday for a league match and then to Yakima over the weekend for a tournament.

The Wildcats appeared weary the first two games against Arlington, losing 25-20 and 25-16.

Jumping to a 7-1 lead in the third set and receiving a boost from the crowd re-energized Oak Harbor. The Eagles cut the gap to 11-9, then Claire Anderson registered a kill, a block and a tip to push the lead to 14-9.

From there, Arlington never sliced the lead to less than four as the Wildcats won 25-20.

Oak Harbor fell behind in both the fourth and fifth games but didn’t fold.

Arlington led the fourth set until Geslyne Barreta’s ace knotted the score at 10. With the help of kills from Anderson, Julie Jansen and AnnaBelle Whitefoot, Oak Harbor went on a 9-1 run to lead 18-11 and eventually win 25-18.

The Eagles spurted to a 3-0 lead in the final game. Oak Harbor battled back, and a Barreta/Anderson block and an Anderson kill put the Wildcats in the lead, 8-7.

Arlington tied the set at 10, then Oak Harbor put the Eagles away with a 5-0 finish.

A block and kill from Anderson, a kill from Whitefoot and a tip from Jansen finished the comeback.

Hailee Blau, who assistant coach Dan Potter called the Player of the Match, was impressive as she led Oak Harbor on both sides of the net with 15 kills and six blocks.

Anderson put together a solid all-around match, tallying 13 kills, three aces, 3.5 blocks and 15 digs.

Janae Payne recorded 38 assists, a block and 11 digs; and Whitefoot had a team-high 18 digs.

As a team, Oak Harbor produced 12 blocks.

Lauren May gave Oak Harbor a spark off the bench, firing three aces.

“Lauren stepped up for us,” Molitor said. “She hasn’t played much lately, but she was ready — she is always ready.”

A few adjustments after the two opening game losses helped get Oak Harbor on the right path, Molitor said.

“We moved a couple of people around,” she said. “Fortunately, I have a group that can do that. We have people who can play multiple positions.”

(Janae Payne hands out one of her 38 assists in Monday’s match. Photo by John Fisken.)