La Conner High netters serve up another big win

Having a versatile attack has served the La Conner High volleyball team well.

Especially on those rare occasions when its serving is sub-par.

Last Tuesday was one of those times, but the Lady Braves were still able to dispatch NW2B rival Darrington in straight sets and remain undefeated in five starts.

Due in large part to Olivia Hedlund’s deft and well-placed sets, La Conner breezed to a 25-12, 25-9, 25-15 triumph over the visitors.

Hedlund recorded 51 assists on the night.

“She did a nice job of spreading around the offense,” Lady Braves head coach Suzanne Marble said afterward.

Hedlund chipped in four kills and was among those La Conner players — Heather Henriksen was another — whose service game remained up to snuff.

Hedlund’s impressive stat line included four service aces.

“It wasn’t our best serving night,” Marble conceded. “We’re normally between 92 to 96 percent serving, and we were about 84 percent against Darrington.”

La Conner controlled most other facets of its game quite nicely, though. Such as play at the net.

Ashley Watkins, Kumea Luna, Heather Henriksen, and Matty Lagerwey teamed up for 19 kills.

Henriksen added a team-best 10 digs and delivered all 15 of her service attempts, two of which were aces.

Her sister, Nicole Henriksen, extended rallies with nine digs.

Marble is hopeful La Conner returns to form at the service stripe the next time it faces Darrington, a club she says has plenty of upside.

“They’re a young team that has a lot of potential to be a strong force when we see them again in a few weeks,” Marble noted.

Despite a great start to the campaign — a 5-0 mark highlighted by wins over large school foes — La Conner has yet to tap its full potential, Marble pointed out.

“We just need to continue to control what we can control and work hard each day,” she said. “I’m really proud of these girls.”

In a related note:

• The Lady Braves junior varsity went undefeated and captured the La Conner JV Tournament title last week by downing Seattle Lutheran in the title round. “They did a great job,” Marble said, “and really worked hard.”