Unable to solve the Ferndale puzzle, the Oak Harbor High School volleyball team fell 3-0 to the Golden Eagles in the District 1 tournament at Marysville-Pilchuck High School Saturday, Nov. 8, and was denied a return trip to the state tournament.
With the 25-22, 26-24, 25-22 win, Ferndale placed third at district, picked up the final berth into the state tournament and eliminated the Wildcats.
All three of Oak Harbor’s loses in the past two district tournaments have been to Ferndale, two coming this fall.
In all, the Golden Eagles have beaten the Wildcats five straight.
Oak Harbor received a tough draw in the tournament and was the only team to have to face Ferndale twice. Ferndale entered the tournament as the favorite and as the highest ranked team, sixth, in the state 3A poll.
Oak Harbor’s major problem Saturday was the inability to hold a lead.
The Wildcats spurted to an 8-3 lead in the first game, but Ferndale went on a 12-2 run to make it 15-10 and Oak Harbor could get no closer than three the rest of the way.
The match’s’ turning point came in the second set.
Oak Harbor put together its own comeback, rallying from a six-point deficit (11-5) with the help of eight Claire Anderson kills to build a 24-18 lead.
Ferndale then stunned the Wildcats by reeling off eight straight points to claim the 26-24 win.
The Wildcats trailed by seven (17-10) midway through the third game and didn’t fold. They scratched their way into a 21-21 tie only to see the Golden Eagles recover for the win.
Oak Harbor coach Kerri Molitor said her team’s inconsistent play could be traced back to mental issues and not physical problems: “We think, ‘We have this,’ then we let up. We would start out strong then have a series of bad passes and question whether we can really do this.”
Anderson produced 22 kills, 13 digs and five aces.
Priya Osborne had 24 digs, Hailey Beecher 18 assists and Julie Jansen three blocks.
Oak Harbor placed second in the district tournament last year, losing the title match to, naturally, Ferndale; then went on to place sixth in the state tournament.
This year, the Wildcats tied for second in Wesco, placed fourth at district and ended the season with an 11-7 record.
(Janae Payne (10) and Julie Jansen (13) block Ferndale’s Julia Olson. Photo by Jim Waller.)
