TACOMA - An impulse to attack was absent without leave for the Foster High School girls volleyball team in a 25-7, 25-15, 25-14, Class 2A West Central District III tournament loss to Sequim on Friday, November 4, on the main court of Franklin Pierce High School.
As a result, Foster of Tukwila faced the specter of winning three consecutive matches in order to earn the fifth and final district seed to the state tournament.
"Our team didn't start out being aggressive, and that set the tone for the rest of the match," observed Bulldog head coach Brandi Travess. "We needed to hit the ball and make them (the Wolves) work. Instead, we made the plays for them. They had some hard hitters and their libero was able to set up the hitters, but we also made mistakes. Our momentum would get killed by mistakes, like missed serves."
In the beginning, Foster seemed to be operating under a non-aggression pact as Sequim as the powerful front line of Alexas Besand, Katelyn McDaniels and Haleigh Harrison killed to their hearts' content.
Leads of 14-3 and 22-5 against the passive Bulldogs told the story of the first set.
Organizing itself better in the second set while nullifying the Sequim hitters with good blocking and defense, Foster overcame a 7-3 deficit to stay within 1- point before forging a 12-12 tie on a Veronica Sun serve that was mishandled by Sequim. Her next serve went into the net and two straight serving winners from the Wolves triggered a 7-0 run that shifted the balance to Sequim. Aba Monkah was a key player in the Foster improvement.
The theme for the third set became "roll Wolves" after Sequim turned an 8-6 edge into a leads of 12-6 and 18-9. Self-inflicted mistakes kept the Bulldogs from sustaining momentum.
In their third consecutive playoff season, Foster is trying to turn the corner and win a match at district.
"The girls have worked so hard, we'd really like to get a win," concluded Travess.
In addition to Foster and Sequim, the two-day tournament featured squads representing North Kitsap, Interlake, Steilacoom, Washington, Franklin Pierce, Olympic, Sumner, Fife, Port Angeles and White River.
Players for Foster at district are Yen Le, Angelie Teng, Veronica Sun, Marquis Daniels, Aba Monkah, Eunica Serafica, Lesieli Tapealava, Kirsten Goins, Kirsten Cruice and Sahara Hill. Hill is the only senior.
Head coach Travess is assisted by coach Ryan Adams. JD Hill is the Bulldog athletic director.
