Lady Braves split matches, win one that matters most

Win some, lose some.

But even when they lose — which is quite rare these days — the La Conner High Lady Braves still end up winning.

The La Conner volleyball team split two key matches last week, defeating NW2B rival Friday Harbor in straight-sets after having dropped a tough five-set verdict at 4A Woodinville earlier in the week.

The Lady Braves fell behind early against Woodinville, losing 25-12 and 25-22 to open the match. La Conner stormed back to win the third and fourth sets by respective 25-17 and 25-18 margins before falling 15-11 in the final session.

La Conner cruised to a 25-14, 25-16, 25-14 victory in its league pairing with Friday Harbor.

Despite the mixed results, it was truly a win-win scenario for the Lady Braves, according to head coach Suzanne Marble.

“I’m super proud of the way my girls fought to come back after losing the first two sets (at Woodinville) and really getting beat in set one,” Marble said. “We just missed a few too many serves in set two to close it out.

“It was a two-hour battle,” added Marble, “and I’m thrilled that we got to have such a great match mid-season. We definitely learned a lot.”

Freshman Justine Benson proved a quick study facing the Lady Falcons.

Benson jump-started the La Conner attack with 29 assists. She also recorded four kills and three blocks while delivering three service aces.

Ashley Watkins finished with 11 kills and 17 digs, and matched Benson with a trio of aces.

Joanie Benson and Jayna Whited added six kills apiece.

Sage Burgmeier had 29 digs for the Lady Braves.

The La Conner comeback bid was fueled by Aubrey Swigert, who posed matchup problems for Woodinville blockers, especially in the late going.

“Aubrey was incredibly strong at the net with 12 kills and nine blocks,” Marble noted afterward. “She was on fire in sets three through five.”

It was enough for talented Woodinville to feel the heat.

“It was a great growth opportunity,” Marble said, “and that we have the respect of a 4A school means a lot to our 2B program.”

In a way, the loss to Woodinville felt more like a win than did the 3-0 sweep of Friday Harbor.

La Conner came out on top despite what Marble felt was on occasion a flat effort against the Lady Wolverines.

“We lost our intensity at some points during the match,” she lamented. “We need to use every match as an opportunity to improve, and we didn’t always take advantage of that against Friday Harbor. We need to come out focused and ready to play each night.”

Still, the match had its high points for La Conner.

Justine Benson notched 28 assists, setting up several teammates, in a clash that went just three sets.

Prime beneficiaries were Watkins, 12 kills, Lindsay Lowry, with 7, Swigert with 6, and Whited with 5, who combined for 30 kills.

Lowry added a pair of blocks and two service aces. Whited also twice served up aces and finished with nine digs, one less than Burgmeier.

La Conner, 7-1 overall, enters the second half of its regular season this week with two league matches. The Lady Braves were at Darrington late Tuesday, and host Shoreline Christian tomorrow, Thursday, at 6:30 p.m.

“We’re looking forward,” said Marble, “to the second half of our season. Round two, here we come.”