Panthers Get Revenge, Sweep Olympia at Home
Five days after dropping a 3-1 decision on the road, Bonney Lake got exactly the answer it was looking for. The Panthers hosted Olympia on Monday and put on a clinic, sweeping the Bears 25-22, 25-21, 26-24 in front of a solid home crowd.
Whatever adjustments Bonney Lake made after last Wednesday's loss, they worked. This wasn't the same team that got outplayed in three of four sets on the road. Taylin Beers turned in one of the most complete performances of the season, finishing with 13 kills and 20 digs, and the Panthers never trailed by more than a few points all night.
Joseph Closes Out a Tight Opener
Set one was a battle from the jump. Olympia grabbed an early edge before Marley Joseph tied it up and then put the Panthers ahead with back-to-back slams, sparking the home crowd early. Beers took over from there, mixing in a corner spike and an acrobatic tip to keep Bonney Lake in front, and Olympia's outside hitter answered with some hard swings of her own to keep it tight.
Joseph put together a putaway and a block to stretch the lead to three, and Beers found an empty corner to push it further, but Olympia wouldn't go away, cutting the deficit to two points late. Joseph settled things once and for all, closing out the set to give Bonney Lake a 25-22 win and the early edge in the match.
Predmore Takes Over Down the Stretch
Bonney Lake fell behind 3-0 to open the second set, and for a moment it looked like Olympia might carry over the momentum from last week. Beers had other ideas, tying it up and then trading blows with the Bears through a tight middle stretch that saw the lead change hands multiple times.
Ellie Larwig put the Panthers back in front with a slam, and Tessa Lee delivered one of the plays of the night, an all-out diving save to keep a point alive at 22-20. From there, Lia Predmore took over, stringing together an unanswered run behind her serve to push the lead to 24-21 and close out the set, 25-21.
Rice Sets the Tone, Beers Finishes the Job
Tessa Rice did what she's made a habit of doing this season, coming alive right out of the gate. She opened the third set with back-to-back kills, and after Olympia tied it up, Uhler capped a long, physical rally with a putaway that sent the crowd into a roar.
The set turned into a track meet from there. Rice added a pair of touch shots, Beers strung together two aces and a handful of kills, and Olivia Uhler chipped in a big block to help build a 18-12 cushion. But Olympia refused to fold, clawing all the way back to tie it at 21, then 22, then 23, before taking a 24-23 lead that put the Panthers on the brink.
Uhler answered with a kill to tie it at 24, and Beers delivered the go-ahead spike to make it 25-24. Olympia's final attempt sailed long, and Bonney Lake had its sweep, capping the set 26-24 and sending the Bears home with the same result they'd handed Bonney Lake five days earlier, just reversed.
By the Numbers
Taylin Beers: 13 kills, 20 digs, 1 block
Marley Joseph: 8 kills, 2 blocks
Olivia Uhler: 6 kills, 2 digs, 2 blocks
Tessa Rice: 5 kills, 1 dig
Tessa Lee: 20 digs
Lia Predmore: 13 digs
Ellie Larwig: 2 kills
Jianna Goodloe: 6 digs
Kamryn Davisson: 1 kill
A road loss can tell a team a lot about itself. Bonney Lake took what it learned in Olympia and turned it into a statement five days later, and did it with the kind of complete effort, Beers doing damage on both sides of the ball, Rice setting the tone, Predmore closing the door, that's starting to look like this team's identity.
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