Perhaps it was fate when Bellarmine Prep coach Jody DeGroot opened her fortune cookie at lunch Friday, and the slip of paper said that “Monday was going to bring luck and good fortune.”
Sharing it with her top-ranked Lions volleyball team was a must, given that a showdown with second-ranked Olympia was on the horizon – coincidentally on Monday.
In a playoff-type atmosphere, the top two teams in Class 4A clashed at Bellarmine Prep, and the No. 1 Lions swept visiting Olympia, 25-21, 25-20, 25-22.
The result moved the Lions closer to winning the 4A Narrows League title with two league matches remaining.
“Today is Monday, and we had great fortunes,” said Lions sophomore outside hitter Courtney Schwan, who had a match-high 22 kills. “This gives us great confidence.
“We still want to maintain our focus, and look forward to league, districts, and hopefully, the state tournament.”
Bellarmine Prep (12-1 overall, 5-0 4A Narrows) handed Olympia, the three-time reigning Narrows League champion, its first league loss since 2007. That’s also the last time Bellarmine Prep defeated the Bears.
“Olympia is always a good team and they’re always going to compete and give you a tough match,” DeGroot said. “This was a big deal for us to get back that opportunity to compete and say, ‘Yes we can.’ ”
Since dropping a four-set match to Kentwood on Sept. 23, the Lions have won seven consecutive matches – all in sweeps.
Schwan tallied 11 of her 22 kills in the first set, but the Lions got big production from Katherine Joyce (four blocks) and the setting combination of Katy DeGroot and Kelcie May totaled 35 assists in the match.
The Bears (11-1, 4-1) made uncharacteristic errors in hitting, passing and serving. But, despite the less-than-stellar play, the Bears stayed closed in all three sets.
Olympia had its worst hitting percentage of the season (.180). Six-foot-4 middle hitter Michaela Berendt had a team-best 10 kills and four blocks for the Bears, and setter Alex Bassett had 31 assists.
“None of that was who we’ve been all season,” Olympia coach Laurie Creighton said. “That was uncharacteristic of the way we’ve played the entire season. … We just didn’t play well. We were thinking about the wrong stuff.”
In the second set, Olympia was its worst enemy at the net, committing committed seven hitting errors and twice trailed by as many as nine points twice.
Bellarmine Prep grabbed a 13-4 lead before the Bears starting chipping away and got as close as three at 15-12 before Bellarmine pulled away late and used a run of three consecutive kills – two by the 6-foot-2 Schwan – and an Olympia serving error to grab a 23-17 lead.
Bears defensive specialist Sadie Beckenhauer left the match after hitting her forehead on the gymnasium floor following a after a diving effort to save a deep ball. Creighton said Beckenhauer, who has a history of concussions, will be evaluated today.
Meg Wochnick: 360-754-5473 mwochnick@theolympian.com
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