By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
The Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks volleyball team held a (7-6) overall record, sat in the 5th spot in NW 1B standings, and were coming off losing four out of five matches with only a few days before the district tournament.
Fortunately, there were two regular season matches remaining on the schedule. The first was against Orcas Christian (4-9), while the second was against Skykomish (0-12). Tulalip needed to build their on-court chemistry and find their winning touch again, and that’s exactly what they did. The Lady Hawks easily defeated Orcas Christian before dismantling Skykomish. The two wins paid huge dividends as the (9-6) record boosted them to the 3rd spot in NW 1B standings, while the wins themselves were morale boosters for a team now looking forward to the playoffs.
The 2016 District 1B Volleyball Tournament took place at Mt. Vernon Christian high school on Saturday, October 29. First up for the Lady Hawks was a matchup with the Shoreline Christian Chargers.
In what proved to be a highly contested match, the Lady Hawks went nearly point-for-point with the Charges in the first two games, but came up just short. They lost the 1st game 25-27 and the 2nd game 20-25. Being down 0 games to 2, the Lady Hawks could have thrown it in and waited for their next match, but instead they fought back valiantly. They won the 3rd game 25-12 and coasted in the 4th game, 25-10. Tied at 2 games apiece, the match went to a deciding 5th game played to 15 points, must win by two. The Lady Hawks were riding the momentum of the previous two games and went up early, but this time the Chargers battled back. It was a back and forth affair that saw both teams give their all. Tied at 15-15 the game went to extra points, where Tulalip let the game slip away as they 15-17 and the match 2 games to 3.
The loss put Tulalip in the loser’s bracket, where another loss sends them home packing, but if they win out they would earn a qualifying spot in the Tri-District playoffs. The Lady Hawks got ninety minutes to prepare and then took on their rival from Lummi, the Blackhawks.
These two teams played each other twice during the regular season, with Tulalip winning 3 game to 0 and 3 games to 1. This matchup played out similarly. In the 1st game, the Lady Hawks came out sluggish and found themselves trailing 8-11 before flipping the switch and winning 25-20. In the 2nd game, the girls coasted to a 25-13 win. That was followed up by a 25-11 win in the 3rd game, taking the match 3 games to 0.
Next up for the Lady Hawks was a matchup with Arlington Christian Knights, with a qualifying berth to the Tri-District playoffs on the line. These two teams also played each other twice during the regular season. Back in mid-September, Tulalip won the first match 3 games to 2, while the Knights took the most recent match 3 games to 1. Now for the rubber match.
Everything came together in what can only be described as the most clutch performance of the season by the Lady Hawks. Behind a combination of dominant serving, winning at the net, and trust for their teammates, Tulalip went up big early on in each game. In the 1st game it was a 5-0 start, followed up by a 7-0 start in the 2nd game, and capped off with a 6-0 start in the 3rd game. In fact the Lady Hawks pulled off a very impressive accomplishment as they never trailed at any point during the match. They won the match in straight games, 3 to 0, by the scores of 25-17, 25-12, and 25-6.
The high-octane performance put the Lady Hawks record at (11-7) overall, but most importantly their season continues with their qualifying for the Tri-District playoffs. Next up, the Lady Hawks will travel to Tacoma on Thursday, November 3, to matchup with the Evergreen Lutheran Eagles (12-5) in a loser-out game.