John F. Kennedy avoided a knockout punch at home and finally came off the ropes to earn a unanimous 3-0 decision against Evergreen of White Center Thursday night in an entertaining and explosive Seamount League King Division girls volleyball main event at the Lancer court.

Kennedy ran its records to 10-1 overall and 5-0 in league while Evergreen ended the night at 3-2 in league play.

"Evergreen has some really outstanding players," said Lancer head coach Tom Muckerheide. "We may have a little more depth because we go seven or eight players deep in the rotation, so as time goes on we might wear the other team down."

Both teams showed superlative skill and combativeness under pressure as they fought fiercely for survival.

The first game foreshadowed the type of action that occurred most of the night. Exchanging short and long point streaks with inspired play at net, dynamic defensive digs and incredible returns, the Lancers and Wolverines waged battle.

With the longest lead established by either team being five points, the decisive rallies transpired after Kennedy's Brittany Montgomery angled a kill into the Evergreen back line to establish a 20-15 Lancer lead.

As a supportive home audience countered by an enthusiastic and encouraging visiting crowd created the cacophony of sound and fever pitch that would be maintained throughout the fracas, the Wolverines racked up six consecutive points to take a 21-20 lead. Stephanie Slatt tied the score for Kennedy, but Evergreen sophomore Erin Togi hit a winner down the sideline to put the Wolverines on top.

Kailey Hutchinson brought the Lancers into a 22-all tie before Rachel Moran's block and Angela Smith's kill gave JFK a 24-22 margin.

Evergreen answered back once more on a Keilah Fanene hit. The game ended on a Hutchinson blast that bounced off a defender.

Great scrambling by both teams continued in the second game as the Evergreen Express threatened to run away with the game. The Wolverines built leads of 8-3 and 16-7 by controlling the flow and focus with all court coverage, especially from the right and left side hitting positions.

Trailing 17-8, the Lancers utilized smothering blocks and superb serves to create an 8-0 points run and draw within 17-16. Another momentum swing showed Evergreen rallying for a 19-18 advantage. Hutchinson tipps a shot just over the net to complete a 5-0 Kennedy surge. The Lancers countered a two-point Wolverine run with a 2-0 run of their own to end the game.

In each of the first two games, Evergreen pounded away and was in position for victory, but could not deliver a knockout blow.

"We felt a lot of pressure," admitted JFK's Ashley Eneliko, who struck nine kills. "We had to shake it off and relax because we were better than we played at the start. The other team was good at everything. We focused and played our game."

Kennedy took charge early to establish leads of 8-1 and 19-6 en route to a 25-13 third game dominance.

"In the third game we calmed down," said Lancer setter Rachel Moran who passed out 41 assists and dug out eight hits. "We lost our focus earlier and had to try and keep our focus. We weren't going to give up the fight."

Hutchinson notched 14 kills and earned seven digs while Kennedy teammate Stephanie Slatt blasted 15 kills. Brittany Montgomery served five aces.

For Evergreen, the close encounter of the competitive kind was an indication that the building process begun last season was continuing.

"Last year the girls learned to play together," explained second-year Evergreen head coach Lorna Considine. "This year they're learning to play together as a team. They're hustling and believing in each other."

With the team able to have the same coach for more than one season at a time, the Wolverine program appears to be headed in the right direction.

Keilah Fanene paced a balanced Evergreen effort with six kills. Holly Johnson contributed 10 assists to augment six digs each from Amy Gambill and Tiera Lanier.