Cubs nip Braves in 5-set thriller

Addison Wigal enjoyed a senior moment before she joined her La Conner volleyball teammates in a thrilling five-set home match Oct. 30 that won't soon be forgotten.

Wigal, La Conner's lone senior, was honored prior to the Braves' marathon two-and-a-half-hour clash with Sedro-Woolley, which won by scoring the final three points in the decisive fifth set.

"It was definitely one of our better matches of the season," La Conner head coach Pam Keller said. "It's what we needed going into Bi-Districts."

Keller was especially pleased with the play of her backliners, who extended repeated long rallies with big-time digs against Sedro-Woolley senior outside hitter Abby Gardner.

The 5-foot-10 Gardner, who was stellar the entire night, recorded six kills and a service ace in the Cubs' 17-15 fifth-set triumph.

The two teams split the prior four sets. Sedro-Woolley claimed the first and fourth frames, 25-22 and 25-19. La Conner took sets two and three by scores of 27-25 and 25-21.

Overall, 3A Sedro-Woolley enjoyed a narrow 113-108 edge in points over 2B La Conner, which fell to 12-9 on the season entering Tuesday's late action at Mount Vernon Christian.

La Conner, 6-3 in conference play, is scheduled to open Bi-District 2B tourney competition Thursday at Auburn Adventist. Match time and opponent are not yet determined.

What can be confirmed is that La Conner's match with Sedro-Woolley – other than the outcome – was a classic. The hosts, thanks to excellent court coveragew and deft passing, were able to play the much taller Cubs on equal terms throughout.

In fact, La Conner enjoyed a match point at 15-14 in the fifth set. But Sedro-Woolley fought back to win the last three points, capped by yet another Gardner spike.

The Braves had their moments.

In the second set, La Conner broke out to an early 3-0 lead behind strong serving from libero Addison Keller and key blocks from Abi Poulton and Nora McCormick. La Conner built its largest lead of the set, 21-17, on a Wigal kill. A Wigal ace and McCormick tip at the net closed out the set.

In the third set, La Conner overcame an early five-point deficit. Maeve McCormick jump-started the comeback with a block and two straight aces.

Izzy Villard answered an ace from Sedro-Woolley's Zoe Abbott with a well-placed shot just inside the back line. La Conner then seized the lead at 15-14 on a Poulton kill.

Nora McCormick, Maeve McCormick, and Poulton recorded kills the rest of the way as La Conner forged a 2-1 lead going into the fourth set.

All told, Nora McCormick (15), Poulton (13) and Maeve McCormick (10) each finished in double-digit kills for La Conner. Reese Bird (8), Wigal (3), Julia Nelson (2) and Villard (1) likewise chipped in winners.

Maeve McCormick (3), Keller (2), Mia Delage (1), Aaliyah Gonzalez (1) and Bird (1) bolstered the La Conner attack with aces.

Bird (27) and Delage (10) fueled the La Conner offense with double-figure assists.

Defensively, Keller and Bird led the way. Keller collected 43 digs and Bird had 36. Maeve McCormick (17), Poulton (13), Wigal (12), Gonzalez (9), Delage (8), Nora McCormick (7) and Villard (1) contributed digs as well, indicative of how effective La Conner's court coverage was against Sedro-Woolley's big hitters Gardner and Abbott.

As of Tuesday, Coupeville retained first place in NW2B/1B standings with an unblemished 10-0 record. Darrington was second at 6-2, followed by La Conner (6-3), Orcas Island (5-4), Mount Vernon Christian (3-6), Concrete (1-7), and Friday Harbor (0-9).