Vikings volleyball
The volleyball team is entering the post-season on a roll. The girls are on to the state championships on Nov. 11 after placing third in the Bi-District Tournament on Saturday. The top four finishers are advancing to state.
“With only one senior, and a total of three returning varsity players from last season, we expected this to be a building year,” said assistant coach Hank Date. “But the girls have learned quickly, fought hard, and stuck together. We’ve still got a lot of work to do to get where we need to be. If we can bring focus and intensity to every play, in practice as well as in games, we have the talent to go as far as we want to in post season.”
Orcas won three of the four matches over the course ofthe tournament, beating Mt. Vernon Christian, Cedar Park Christian, and Shoreline Christian. The only loss was to Darrington. The girls played 17 games during the tournament, winning 12 and losing five.
Senior Kathryn Tidwell dominated the front court for the Vikings as usual, and Mary Wilson, Jenna Tully, Soren Sweet, and Freeda Crow all contributed to the offense. Setter Aliviah Garcia ran the Viking offense and Tika Zbornik turned heads with her stingy defense in the back court.
“The Orcas athletes are excelling off the court as well,” said assistant coach Hank Date. “Last week the Viking Volleyball team was presented the Distinguished Scholastic Award by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.”
All 22 players on the varsity and junior varsity squads will be presented with the award, signifying that the team achieved a collective grade point average higher than 3.0 during the last grading period.
Vikings football
After crushing the Darrington Loggers on Oct. 22, the Vikings football team advanced in league play – but it was a precarious position. The team had its eye on a spot in the Northwest-SeaTac League, which would qualify them for the playoffs, but they had to win at least one more game.
On Saturday, the boys played Concrete.
“This game is big for post-season aspirations,” said Harris a few days before the game. “Concrete is in the same situation. Both teams are going to play hard. We’ll have to play well to win.”
The Vikings crushed the Concrete Lions, 48-27.
It was the last home game for long-time coach Dennis Dahl’s, who is officially retiring after 22 years. It was also the final game on home turf for seniors Randall Boetger, Robbie Padbury, Keenan Phalan, Aubrey Schermerhorn, Mikail Van Maren, and Di Wang-Mowrey.
For full coverage of the game as well as a video of Dahl being doused with ice by Padbury and Tyler Jensen, see the story here.
The Vikings play at La Conner on Nov. 3. If Orcas wins, the boys are looking at second place in the league. If the Vikings lose, they will be part of a three-way tie for third place.
Harris said there would be some sort of mini-playoff to determine who advances.
“LaConner recently beat Concrete 40 to 12,” Harris said. “That will be a steep hill for us.”
The team experienced two league losses this year. Both were missed by one point, including a double overtime loss to the undefeated Crusaders from Tacoma Baptist.
“The boys have done great,” Harris said. “We challenged them early with a tough schedule, and in league we have only lost two games by one point. Our strength is in our quarterback and receivers. We have recently discovered a great runner with Jake Zier.”
Girls soccer
The Vikings girls soccer team had a chance to play at state, but the girls lost to Seattle Lutheran on Nov. 1. The final score was 2-0.
It was a pigtail game for team. A win would have meant the girls qualify for tri-districts.
This season, the team has won four of its 10 games.
“They have been working really hard and steadily improving and all their hard work is starting to come to fruition,” said coach Chama Anderson. “Their chemistry on the field is really coming together … they are solid and they are moving forward and on an upswing.”
