As far as Oak Harbor High School volleyball coach Kerri Molitor is concerned, her team’s record is 0-0.

The Wildcats begin league play next week with a clean conference slate, but Snohomish added to Oak Harbor’s nonleague miseries by topping the visiting ‘Cats 3-1 Tuesday, Sept. 24.

The loss sank Oak Harbor’s record to 0-5.

Molitor said, “I know our record doesn’t reflect the talented team I get to coach. We just need to believe in ourselves, our teammates and our coaches and we will see success. I am still optimistic about our season. We begin league play next week. Our record, as I see it, is 0-0.”

She added, “We have had opportunities for growth during our pre-season. We will use our past experiences, both positive and negative, to help us achieve our goals.”

Oak Harbor opens Wesco play at home at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, against Shorewood (3-2). The Western Conference is not divided into two division for volleyball; each of the 10 teams will play the other nine once.

Molitor had mixed emotions about the Snohomish (3-1) match: “(It) was the best the team has played; I was so proud of them. Unfortunately, I was also very disappointed in them during the fourth set.”

Oak Harbor opened with a 25-19 win in the first game and then lost a pair of close matches, 25-21 and 26-24. Needing to win the fourth set, the Wildcats wilted in a 25-16 loss.

“I know they could have pulled together and finished strong,” Molitor said.

She noted her club played on the road on back-to-back nights and did do some good things: “Snohomish has a great team. They were difficult to defend, but we did a great job. Our passing game improved a bit, which is what we need going into next week.”

Hailey Beecher dished out 28 assists, helping Kayleigh Harper collect 11 kills and Clair Anderson and MaKenna Martyn six each.

Anderson led the defense with 15 digs; Annabelle Whitefoot added 13.