Beatable? Probably. But North Kitsap looks like the top team in the Olympic League this season.

The fact that Jennie Webber Heilman’s Wolves only get to see them once in 2009 makes her bristle a bit.

"They might make it to state," Webber Heilman said of the Vikings, who topped her Wolves squad in three sets on Tuesday, Sept. 29, to move one game ahead of Sequim in the league standings.

"They got into a good rotation … (but) they let a few balls just drop," Webber Heilman said. "Kennedy was better."

So far, the loss to North Kitsap and a nonleague loss to Kennedy on Sept. 19 are the only marks on Sequim’s early season résume. But the Wolves still are trying to work out a consistent rotation.

In the first set against North Kitsap, Sequim started strong in a 25-19 first-set loss.

In the second set, Webber Heilman said the Wolves’ passing and blocking slumped, giving Viking sophomore Sarah Baugh free rein on several hits. North Kitsap took set two, 25-14.

"We kind of went flat the second game," the Sequim coach said.

Playing with a mixed lineup in the third set, Sequim dropped the third set 25-20.

Baugh led North Kitsap with 16 kills, 11 assists and seven digs while N.K.’s Taylor Ottomano added nine kills.

Maddy Zbaraschuk led the Wolves with eight kills while Taylor Balkan added 10 assists, nine digs and was 9-of-10 serving with two aces.

Sierra Clark and Sarah Donahue spearheaded the defense, getting 10 digs each, while Jessica Lauritzen and Caitlin Pallai had four kills each. Lauritzen had three blocks.

"We’re going to have to be able to block (against the top schools)," Webber Heilman said. "(And) we’re really trying to work hard on serving tougher."

That’s what the Wolves were working on later in the week, as the Sequim coach had her players doing a set of abdominal crunches after each missed serve.

Sequim (4-1 in Olympic League, 5-2 overall) was scheduled to play at Bremerton (1-3, 1-5) on Oct. 6 – results were unavailable at press time.

The Wolves play two big contests after the Knights. They host Port Angeles on Oct. 8 and play at Olympic (Silverdale) on Oct. 13. Game time for both matches is 6:15 p.m.

Olympic League standings

(as of Oct. 4)

Team Lg. Over.

N. Kitsap 5-0 9-2

Olympic 4-1 4-4

Sequim 4-1 5-2

Port Angeles 3-2 5-2

N. Mason 3-3 3-4

Pt. Townsend 2-3 2-3

Bremerton 1-3 1-5

Klahowya 0-4 0-6

Kingston 0-5 0-6

Reach Michael Dashiell at miked@sequimgazette.com.