The Oak Harbor High School volleyball team knew it had a rugged road to travel in the district tournament if it wanted to claim a state berth. That path became more difficult after the first round Saturday, Nov. 1, at Shorewood High School.

The Wildcats lost 3-0 to sixth-ranked and pre-tournament favorite Ferndale in the double-elimination tournament.

After Oak Harbor lost, Wesco champion Shorewood was upset by Marysville-Pilchuck, dropping the T-birds into the Wildcats’ path.

To stay alive in the tournament, the Wildcats will need to take down revenge-seeking Shorewood on the Thunderbirds’ floor at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Oak Harbor (9-6) upset 10th-ranked Shorewood (10-6) in the final Wesco match Wednesday, Oct. 29.

After the Wildcats’ loss to Ferndale, coach Kerri Molitor said, “Our plan now is to re-group and focus on the next match. If we can play with solid fundamentals, anything can happen. Shorewood will be tough. They are a great team and will be eager to play us again.”

Molitor wasn’t happy with the performance of her team in the Ferndale match, won by the Golden Eagles 25-23, 25-18, 25-20.

“I don’t feel like we were mentally ready to play,” she said. “We let Ferndale dictate the pace of the game, and (I) felt like we were in a constant state of making adjustments. Our passing was not as strong as it has been going into playoffs, so it was difficult to take control offensively.”

Claire Anderson topped the Wildcat attack with 12 kills, 16 digs and three aces.

Hailee Blau had seven kills; Priya Osborne had 33 digs; Hailey Beecher had 16 assists; and Natalie McVey had nine assists.