The Lopez volleyball team played and won in a four game match against Skykomish on Sept. 23, at Skykomish, near Monroe, Washington. The scores that day were:

25/19 Lopez, 25/14 Lopez, 18/25 Skykomish, and 25/18 Lopez. The Lobos dominated the Skykomish team throughout the match and Coach Mellonie Altona commented, “Skykomish has improved a great deal since last year. Their passing has gotten more consistent and they gave us a good run for our money. Best of all, all my players were able to get off the bench and obtain good experience on the court. Lily Ewert, for example, had her first kill on Tuesday.”

Other Lobos who had productive time on the court were Helen O’Brien with 100 percent on all her serves and a spike attempt at the net, and Vilina Sanburn-Bill, who also served 100 percent. Malisha Burson served 100 percent and made some retrievals and saves off of hard-to-retrieve passes.

Coach Altona said, “Most players serve in the 80 percent realm, which is good, but can be improved. We were not as aggressive at the net as we have been in the past, but this was a good opportunity for us to work on other areas, such as serving, and that’s where we put our attention.”

The Lobos volleyball team again played on Friday, Sept. 26 against Lummi, inside the Lopez gymnasium, and won that match in three out of three games. This was the volleyball team’s first league game of the season, with five league games left to play. The final score was:

25/12 Lopez; 25/20 Lopez; 25/21 Lopez.

“Overall,” commented Coach Altona, “I felt the women dropped their attention level and some of their aggression at the net. They need to learn to stay focused, but they are learning to play together as a team and part of that is the ability to shake off mistakes and move on. They showed great improvement in that department on Friday.”

Five players served 100 percent during the game; Emily PostvanderBurg had 9 kills at the net, Vilina Sanburn-Bill had her first ace during serving, and also served 100 percent during the game. Other players also serving 100 percent were Helen O’Brien, Marina Steinbrueck, and Sarah Stanley. All players were able to be rotated in and all saw playing time in the games.

Coach Altona also said, “Lummi is known for their rocket serves across the net, and for their ability to tear apart the back row from their own back row; we were able to shut that down pretty effectively.”

Emily PostVanderBurg attacked the net 26 times and made nine kills and had six aces during serving. Marina Steinbrueck had two kills, while Malisha Burson had one kill and three aces and Tamira Vojnar had one ace during a serve.

The Lopez Volleyball Team plays again at Grace, at an away game on Tuesday, Sept. 30. They also play this week, Friday, October 3 at home against Providence Christian at 2 p.m. in the Lopez gym.