Panthers Fought Hard on Breast Cancer Awareness Night, Falling to Olympia in Four
- Jordan Staszek
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Written by Junior Freelance Writer Jordan Staszek.
The Bonney Lake Panthers’ Pink Out Night was a packed and thrilling ride like no other. An electric atmosphere with fans decked out in pink filled the stands, and for good reason. Tonight’s Pink Out game celebrated Breast Cancer Awareness, unifying the Bonney Lake community behind a cause that touches so many families.
Coming off a tough string of losses, the Panthers hoped to come into this game and bounce back. However, the Olympia Bears coming in at 9-3 came to fight, setting a tone that rippled throughout the night.
Set One: A Strong Start
The Panthers came out firing, with Taylin Beers landing three early kills that ignited the crowd. Although a few defensive errors created a slow start, Jada Shipp took the wheel, adding on two key points. However, the Bears found the holes forcing a time out by the Panthers. After the break, Tessa Lee became unstoppable behind the line generating 4 points. After fighting back to a 20-23 deficit, the team only gave up 2 points, winning the first set 27-25.
Set Two: A Rough Return
After the put-together start, unforced errors began to build up leading to a rough 2-5 start. Lia Predmore managed a tough save and kill, helping the Panthers regain some momentum. Unfortunately this wasn’t enough; the Bears kept answering the questions we asked, giving them a 7-12 lead. After a timeout, Bonney Lake scavenged a few points, but to no prevail, swiftly losing the set 15-25.
Set Three: A Shift in Momentum
Now being tied up, the Panthers tried to close this set out one rally at a time. Olivia Uhler lit a flame in the crowd, tacking on multiple spikes and keeping the set close. After falling behind for a short time, a kill and two tips by Beers brought them right back bringing the battle to a tense 7-7. For a while, the Panthers kept it close, making the Bears call a timeout after scoring 4 consecutive points. After the timeout, Olympia never stopped, nearly shutting out the Panthers for the rest of the set, and finalizing it at 17-25.
Set Four: Closing Out
The crowd was fired up for the last set of the night. Tessa Rice and Shipp tried to take control for one last time for the night, creating the defensive presence that Bonney Lake was looking for. Still, key violations created lasting impacts throughout the set. Uhler was dominant on offense for this final go, keeping the score close at 12-16. However, the Bears persistently rallied the ball back and threaded the needle on multiple occasions. After 5 unanswered points, the Panthers couldn’t climb back out of the hole and ended the final set 17-25.
Standouts & Reflection:
Beers led the team in kills at 13 with Uhler and Rice following suit at 9. Predmore put together 21 assists and Tessa Lee had 18 digs helping the Panthers play strong throughout.
Although they didn’t win, the Panthers fought hard until the end, with the pink crowd radiating an energy that made a lasting impact. After the game, Olivia Uhler painted a perfect picture for it: “When the energy was up, it was really fun, but when our team mentality would go down, it was hard because everyone would go down”. By creating an atmosphere that impacted more than that game itself, it showed how crucial of a role the Bonney Lake community plays in the games hosted at the Highschool.
Next Up: Bonney Lake travels to Emerald Ridge on Tuesday, October 14.