When the 2011 season got underway about a month ago, one of the realistic aspirations that the Bonney Lake volleyball squad set for itself was to qualify for the 3A state tournament in mid-November for the first time in the school’s history.
The Panther six-pack took a couple more reasonably significant steps towards achieving this goal last week when it managed to sweep Decatur and Enumclaw in straight sets after prevailing in a pair of five set matches in the previous week, beating Peninsula and Auburn Mountainview on the road to elevate Bonney Lake’s SPSL 3A mark to 5-0 and secure its front-running status on top of the heap.
“Top to bottom we play in amazingly competitive league,” exclaimed long-time Bonney Lake mentor Shirley Baker, “but I can’t say that I am surprised that we were able to pull one out on the road against Auburn Mountainview at their place. We have a very talented team this season and so far we are 13-1 having only lost to Spanaway Lake in non-league play.
“We play well against a variety of styles, and when Auburn Mountainview lives and dies by that power game of theirs, they sort of put all of their eggs in one basket by not expecting anyone to be able to thwart them, especially in their gym….Well, we stopped that strong arm attack of their’s, because we have an extremely sound, aggressive and stingy defense as well as an equally talented offense,” concluded Baker.
The grueling away docket didn’t get any easier for Bonney Lake this week as it got a slight break hosting a mediocre Decatur High crew early last week, bludgeoning the Gators 25-15, 25-15 and 25-7.
After that brief Decatur respite though, BLHS hit the asphalt once again, traveling to nearby Enumclaw High, Thursday, October 6 and emerged victorious in three straight hard fought sets against the Hornets 25-22, 25-19 and 25-22. “Enumclaw may be without Miss HayleeMae Dennis (the maroon and gold’s inspirational heart and soul) for a while, but Jackie Carel & Co. always seem to save their best for when we visit their gym, in front of their loyal fan base,” exuded Baker with a smile.
The road to the SPSL 3A title promises not to get any easier this week as the second round of contests in the regular season get under way, but at least the Bonney Lake spikers will be playing in the friendly confines of their own facility with a lot more frequency in the immediate future, as only one out of its next four tilts includes travel plans.
The Panthers already hosted Lakes on Monday with the results of that match up arriving to late to include here and BLHS hosts Peninsula High Wednesday (tonight) at 7:15 p.m., before welcoming Auburn Mountainview to the Panther Den Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 7:15 p.m. as well for a rematch.
