Hazen High School volleyball is back to square one with a 3-3 record after falling to Juanita High School in straight sets Sept. 25.
The Highlanders are right in the middle of the KingCo Mountain standings after three weeks of play.
“We’ve been working on that fight, and on that pushing back to the level that we know how to play at,” said Hazen’s head coach Sydney Fuller.
Looking back at last season, the two teams split the season series with both matches ending in a 3-1 score.
We were aware of them, but we always keep in mind that no matter how good the team is, we always play above them as much as we possibly can,” said Fuller.
Prior to this game, Hazen had responded to an early loss and showed the ability to win. Even though they started out losing their first match against Inglemoor, the Highlanders rebounded in their next two games against Interlake and Lindbergh, winning in straight sets.
This senior-heavy roster is in a win-now phase and after their straight-set loss against Juanita will look to respond against solid teams down the stretch.
“We have been having really good moments, but we’ve been working on that fight, and on that pushing back to the level that we know how to play at. We’re really quick to get in our heads, and kind of see that we’re losing and not playing as well… because there are moments in the game that we had it, but it was just, how do we stick with it,” Coach Fuller said.
Set one started strong for Juanita, as it began without Hazen getting on the scoreboard, jumping out to a 5-0 lead. As Hazen climbed their way back up, they were able to set the score to 8-8. This would be the last time that the score would be this close, as the Ravens were always three or more points ahead from that moment forward. After their strong start, the Ravens were able to close the set with a 25-17 win.
“Juanita has improved a lot from last year. It was kind of a shock to us when they came in and it was so different,” said junior Arisa May-Kelly.
In set two, the Highlanders found themselves in the exact same situation as the first set, trailing early and trying to get back in the set. Hazen was able to maintain a close score at the beginning, tying the score at 6-6. Although they were able to keep it close with the score 10-9 with Juanita in the lead. The Ravens took that momentum and continued with it throughout the rest of the set winning it 25-17 one more.
After the start of the third set, Coach Fuller seemed to use a different recipe of girl’s on the court. Two of the Highlander leaders, senior Sienna German and junior Arisa May-Kelly were noticeably off the court, leaving spots for other girls.
May-Kelly and German were able to help bring Hazen back up to a six-point differential (20-14), but by then it was too late.“I think she definitely brings energy and when she gets a kill, or I get a kill, it brings everyone up and I think that is very powerful for our team… Blocking with her is amazing, I love Sienna’s blocking. It just brings a lot of energy when we’re up there together,” said May-Kelly
The Ravens then swooped in and finished the set 25-19, taking the match win with them.
The Highlanders find themselves up against loss against the Ravens a new challenge at their next game. Facing Woodinville on Oct. 2, Hazen now has a chance to recover from Juanita, and play to the level that they believe they can.
“We don’t know much about Woodinville, it’ll be a surprise for us. We’re going to try to learn as much as we can, but for now, we’re going in with the hopes of we’re going to play above them no matter what,” said Fuller.
Arisa May-Kelly tries a finesse shot to beat the Juanita blockers. Ben Ray / The Reporter
Senior Sienna German sends her left hand above the net to win a point for Hazen. Ben Ray / The Reporter
