New staff tries to work out kinks for Medical Lake volleyball

There’s a familiar ring to Medical Lake High School volleyball’s 0-3 start and that’s conquering a learning curve presented by a new coaching staff.

“Varsity has had a rough start to the season, but they are showing improvement each and every match,” head coach Todd Harr said. “With an entirely new coaching staff we are working to understand all of the players we have to work with along with all of the players understanding what we are asking of them.”

The Cardinals opened the season with a loss, 2-0 to Davenport (12-25, 14-25) in a nonleague match. They followed with 3-0 losses at home to Freeman (5-25, 10-25, 4-25) and Newport (8-25, 23-25, 9-25).

Medical Lake also competed in the Freeman Tournament, Sept. 10, falling to Northwest Christian (9-25, 15-25), Newport (17-25, 19-25), Warden (12-25, 22-25) and Omak (25-22, 9-25, 11-15).

“Freeman was clicking on all cylinders and showed us why they are projected to win the league this season,” Harr said. “While the scores did not show much of a battle, we did our best to compete.” The Cards’ top performer was Hailey Hostetter who contributed multiple digs.

A glimmer of the team’s potential showed itself on the road at Newport where, after a big opening-set loss, Medical Lake put on a show in the middle contest.

“Within this match we had a roller coaster of emotions and were able to show that we can compete,” Harr said. The Cardinals fell after having a lead for much of the set. “This was good and bad as we lost a lead, but we showed we could compete with this team,” he added.

Hostetter and Hannah Petek each had three digs. Ashlyn Tamietti’s pair of kills and Katie Kepner’s two assists were notable, Harr said.

“Hailey (Hostetter) once again was a top performer when it came to digs and has continued to impress and grow during every match,” Harr said.

Tamietti shook off early match jitters and led the way for the hitters. “She will be a key to our success throughout the season,” Harr said. “Kepner led the way for the setters and her confidence continues to grow as she gets to know her hitters.”

At the Freeman Tournament, where the Cardinals got their first set win of the season over Omak, Harr noted the efforts of Lexi Rolan. “Lexi showed us a lot of athleticism and growth as she had a lot of great swings and played well throughout the tournament.”

Next up for Medical Lake is a 6:30 p.m. match tonight (Sept. 15) at Colville (1-1). The Cardinals met Riverside (0-2) Sept. 13.

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].