Mercer Island’s volleyball season came to a close with a 3-2 loss (25-18, 25-19, 19-25,18-25,13-15) to Lake Washington in a loser-out 3A KingCo tournament game on Nov. 7.
With a spot in the 3A Sea-King district tournament on the line, the Islanders started strong winning the first two sets. The Islanders got strong net play from freshman middle hitter Leila Obeidat.
The Kangs came alive in the third and fourth sets to force a fifth set. In the final set, Lake Washington built an early 7-3 lead. The Islanders fought back to tie the set at 11, but the Kangs were able to win.
Mercer Island senior outside hitter Quinn Casey said the team fought hard to get back in the fifth set.
“It was a rocky start,” Casey said. “We tried to pull through but we didn’t make it.”
Despite the loss, Casey said the Islanders played a good overall game, which was their goal going in.
“I think we all had really high energy,” Casey said. “We wanted to go all out tonight, whether we won or lost, we just wanted to play 110 percent and go out of this season with a bang.”
The loss brings an end to Casey’s time on the Mercer Island volleyball team, along with four other seniors, Natalie Chen, Zoey Byers, Jill Jansen and Anika Iverson.
“It’s hard not going further into the season. I’m going to really miss this team, we had a really good bond,” Casey said. “It was really important for us in games to be comfortable with each other and that’s why we played so well in that last game.”
The Islanders opened the tournament with a 3-0 loss to eventual champions Bellevue on Nov. 5.
This season, the Islanders have received contributions from younger girls, which Casey said bodes well for the future of the team.
“I’m really excited,” Casey said. “We have a young team that’s going to come through. We have a lot of young people that are going to come up and play. The next few seasons are going to be strong.”
The Mercer Island volleyball team celebrates a point during a 3-2 loss to Lake Washington on Nov. 7. Photo courtesy of Don Borin/Stop Action Photography
