by Paul Moseley

The West Seattle Wildcats varsity volleyball team travelled up the road to take on the Chief Sealth Seahawks in a matchup to determine first place in the Metro League Sound Division. The Wildcats came in with a 5-3 overall record, 5-0 in Metro Sound Division. Coming off a 3-0 loss to Holy Names in the Mountain Division, the Wildcats came ready to start a new winning streak. The Seahawks came in with an identical 5-3 overall record and were also spotless in the Sound Division, and were also coming off a loss to Lakeside and two players just back from injuries last week.

West Seattle struck first, with super aggressive play and domination at the net, Wildcats Senior Ellen Cleveland set the pace and consistently drove the ball into the opposing floor supported by Eastyn Baleto's finesse and quick digs. West Seattle dominated the first game, winning 25-13.

The Wildcats kept up the pace in game 2, jumping to a 5-0 advantage off the service of Makenzie Harrison, then expanding the lead to 10-1. Chief Sealth found their rhythm partly on the strong play of team captain Katherine Kirk, coming back to within 1 at 13-12. Mistakes got the best of the Seahawks and the Wildcats took advantage, capping game 2 with a 25-16 win.

At some point between game 2 and game 3, the real Seahawks entered the gym. Chief Sealth came out in game 3 diving and playing aggressive ball. The Seahawks went up 1-0 for their first lead of the night, and the best game of night was on. Both teams playing at full throttle, Chief Sealth and West Seattle stayed neck and neck, tying at 3, 6, 13, 21 and 22, with no lead greater than 4 points. In the end, West Seattle held on for a 22-25 win.

In the third game, "we played like we usually do" said Seahawks Coach Considine, "we just started slow tonight". Asked what their next major challenge is? Coach Considine said "West Seattle again, we're undefeated [in except for West Seattle"

Wildcats coach Baleto was pleased with his team's performance, calling out the nights dominating players Ellen Cleveland and Eastyn Baleto. And what is West Seattle's next big challenge this season according to Coach Baleto? "Chief Sealth".

The rematch, scheduled for October 17, should be a fun one to watch.

Round one ends with West Seattle 3, Chief Sealth 0