BREMERTON | If you just look at the numbers, this team had a season that would be hard to describe using positive terms.  10-19 overall record, 3-9 conference record, 6th place finish and out of post-season play.  However, when you speak to the coaches and players, you hear, see and feel the positivity when asked about the season.  Sure, they acknowledge the losses and tell you about the injuries and self-doubt that plagued them.  They talk about tentative swings and hesitations on defense, the missed serves and hitting woes.  Then, suddenly, it was sophomore night and the final home game of the season.  The team that showed up Wednesday night was not the one described above.  It was a team that looked confident, cohesive and mentally tough.  They were aggressive and smart and used all of this to pull off an upset over Shoreline 3-1.  They were "fearless," according to assistant coach Carissa Love.  The loss knocked Shoreline out of post-season play. "[The] win was a perfect finish to a great season because it showed how much fight, heart, and fun we have had all season," shared Love.

On top of that, the crowd showed up.  "That was the most exciting and energy-filled the gym has been in a long time," says Athletic Director Barry Janusch. 

"The support from the other OC athletes and coaches especially made an impact on our ability to stay strong when things were getting tense," shares first-year head coach Michelle Miller, "The beginning of the season was a lot of losses by a few points.  We used that hunger to fuel our end-of-season victories.  It all came to fruition on this final match."

Sophomores Katie Love (Quilcene HS / Quilcene, WA) and Leah Kunz (Central Kitsap HS / Silverdale, WA) led the team on the stat sheet with 12 and 10 kills respectively.  Natalie Lindahl (Fr., Olympic HS  / Bremerton, WA) added 7 kills and Courtney Anderson (So., Central Kitsap HS / Bremerton, WA) had 6.  Lynzey Schoening (Fr., Klahowya SS / Bremerton, WA) had 34 assists and 9 digs.  Alexis Belinski (North Kitsap HS / Poulsbo, WA) had 4 aces and 8 digs. 

The team finished 6th in the North Region, outside of post-season play. 

#GoOC

Written by:  Jaymie Cox-Garcia  | jcox-garcia@olympic.edu

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