Heading into Wednesday night’s volleyball match with Interlake, Mercer Island had lost only one set of volleyball in KingCo competition, which occurred in the Islanders’ Sept. 15 matchup with the Saints. While leaving little room for improvement in the second match between the two teams, the Islanders still proved better the second time around.
Mercer Island earned its fifth-consecutive win Wednesday, beating Interlake in three sets 25-8, 25-18 and 25-22. It was the fifth-straight game in which the Islanders haven’t lost a single set to their opponents.
After the game, coach Susan McKay attributed her team’s impressive performance of late to simply coming together after having time to gel on the floor.
“I think that we’re definitely improving as a team,” she said. “We’re getting more consistent, we’re working toward straightening out our best lineup. It’s a good mark that we are improving, which is always the goal.”
Mercer Island never trailed by more than a point during the contest, leading virtually throughout the first two sets before holding off Interlake in a tighter third set. Olivia Hughes had seven kills, five blocks and two digs for Mercer Island, while Natalie Robinson had six kills, four aces, four digs and 31 assists and Jemma Yeadon posted six kills, nine digs, four blocks and three aces for the Islanders.
McKay said a big factor in the Islanders’ improved play was integrating the younger players into the team’s system and running their offense and defense the way they want. She said the team’s serve-receive passing was a big weakness at the beginning of the season, something the Islanders have since improved.
“We’re just gelling as a team, but because we had so many new players coming in, it takes awhile to figure all that out,” she said.
While completing its first round of KingCo competition undefeated and sweeping the competition in its last five matches, McKay said her team’s focus is to stay mindful of the present and not look too far ahead.
“Our first goal is to win KingCo and we still haven’t done that yet,” she said. “We are on our way. We played well in the first half (of the season) and we’re in the position to win because we’re still undefeated (in KingCo), but I think it’s really important that they stay focused on what’s going on now. We still have a lot of work to do.”
