Volleyball’s keys to success rest with winning the battles for key statistical categories such as kills, aces and digs.
Medical Lake head volleyball coach Kari Knowlton added another element — a kick in the butt.
The ”kick” was figuratively of course but Knowlton’s certain it helped the team end three seasons of frustration and earn them a 3-1 Northeast A League victory, Oct. 1 at Riverside (0-6 NEA, 0-7 overall) as Medical Lake rallied from a 25-23 loss in game one to claim the match on wins of 25-14, 25-11 and 25-20.
That third-set victory clinched the team’s first match win since Oct. 15, 2013, snapping a 25-match streak.
The win came on the heels of a 3-0 crusher of a loss at home to Freeman (6-0, 11-0) Sept. 29 by scores of 25-9, 25-10 and 25-3, so practice prior to the Riverside win was a little rough, Knowlton said. But the team emerged with a new mindset.
“They needed for me to kind of kick ‘em in the butt a little bit to get things going,” she said.
“I think they needed a reality check and that’s what I gave them,” Knowlton said. “You guys have to do this for yourself, nothing’s going to happen if you don’t fight for yourself.”
After losing their first game of the match, Riverside’s first win of the season, there was a lot of excitement in the gym.
But a string of serves by Taylor Fritz —seven in a row at least Knowlton said — vgot the Cardinals rolling on their way to their first game victory 25-14.
“Everything started falling in place, our sets were good, Taylor had double-digits for kills (10), Claire Dormaier 19 digs,” Knowlton said. “Everything started clicking.”
It was different than in the past where Knowlton said the team would “plateau.” This is the first time she’s seen the team continue to build on its momentum.
“They made sure they emphasized their opponents’ mistakes,” Knowlton said. “When they made mistakes they shucked it off; it was much more of a team game from what I’ve seen previously.”
A Tuesday, Oct. 6 match at home with Chewelah (1-5, 1-6) concludes the first half of the season. Medical Lake will be on the road at Colville (4-2, 5-2) tonight, Oct. 8 and Deer Park (4-2, 4-2) Tuesday, Oct. 13 in the first second-half outings.
Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].
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