On Wednesday, the Lopez Volleyball team traveled to Tacoma and won their match in three games against Mt. Rainier Lutheran to advance in tri-district placement. Coach Mellonnie Altona said of the match, “Mt Rainer Lutheran had strong servers but they were unable to dig up our return volleys. I was very proud of how well Valina Sanborn-Bill, Helen O’Brien and Lily Ewert played in that game. They attacked and served the ball with great accuracy.”

The team journied to tri-district held in Coupville on Saturday, Nov. 8. The Lopez Lady Lobos lost their first match against the Neah Bay Wolves: 24-26, Neah Bay, 25-20, Lopez, 18-25, Neah Bay, and 14-25 Neah Bay. “We came out strong.” Coach Altona said. “In game two, we had them frustrated and used it to our advantage, but then after that Neah Bay built up momentum in their playing that we were not able to recover from.” Stats from that game include ten kills for senior Emily PostvanderBurg. PostvanderBurg also had four aces and she served 22/23. Senior Gwenna Coiley had seven kills and served 9/9, while Erin had one kill and served 4/9. Tamira Vojnar served 9/13, Hanifa MacGovern had two kills and four aces and served 100%, 17/17, while Sarah Stanley had eight kills and one ace, and served 5/7, Marina Steinbrueck had one kill, and Malisha Burson had two aces and served 3/5.

The Lady Lobos went on to play Lummi in the tri-district tournament, and lost the match in four games: 23-25 Lopez, 21-25, Lummi; 25-19, Lummi; 22-25 Lummi.

Coach Altona commented, “Our season started with Lummi, and has ended with Lummi. Lummi had a new player, Kayla Frajman, that gave Lummi much needed help at the net. We started out almost in slow motion, just coming off the court from our loss against Neah Bay. Things started to click for us as well as for Lummi in the first game. We covered tips and blocked beautifully. Freshman Marina Steinbrueck did a great job covering and being a force at the net with four kills. The Lobos never got down and played smart. Senior Emily PostvanderBurg attacked the ball with great force, giving one of Lummi’s players a facial. The ball came at her so fast she didn’t have time to put her hands up. Emily had 11 kills and 11 blocks, two aces and served 8/12. Gwenna Coiley has been our rock all season. She constantly makes textbook passes and can place the ball anywhere on the court. Gwenna had one block and three kills along with one ace and served 16/20. Erin Wilbur served the best she has all season, putting hard, deep serves over the net. She was 15/16 with three aces, and one kill. Tamira dug up so many of Lummi’s hits, keeping us alive in numerous plays. She had one ace and served 14/17. Hanifa MacGovern continued to be a huge asset to the team with one kill, one ace and serving 15/17. Sarah served 10/12 with one block and one kill.”

Coach Altona concluded her remarks on the season by saying, “The girls have came a long way. They worked so hard this season and their dedication to the team showed. They thought of the team as family and they are very sad the season is over. Mitch and I could not have asked for a better group of girls to coach. It’s hard to believe it’s over.”