Olympic League standings

(as of Sept. 23)

Team Lg. Over.

North Mason 2-0 2-1

Olympic 2-1 3-2

North Kitsap 1-0 2-1

Port Angeles 1-1 2-1

Kingston 1-2 3-2

Sequim 1-2 1-3

Bremerton 0-2 0-2

For the second time in three matches, Sequim went down to the wire with a key league foe before falling in a close fifth game.

The Wolves (1-2 in league play, 1-3 overall) took host Olympic to the proverbial wire before falling in five games on Sept. 19.

Sequim dropped the first two games, 25-18 and 27-25, before rebounding to dominate the third and fourth games, 25-16 and 25-20.

“Our girls did a great job coming back after losing the first two,” Sequim coach Jennie Webber Heilman said.

“We got a lead in the fifth when Kiana (Robideau) served four aces in a row, but Olympic’s offense was more consistent than ours and got the win.”

Olympic edged Sequim 15-12 in the final frame.

Kendall Hastings had 10 kills and Kalli Wiker added 22 assists to pace the offense. Robideau was the serving star going 28-of-29 with 12 aces — including four in a row in the third game. She added six kills.

McKenna Hastings was 20-of-21 serving and had three of Sequim’s 21 aces.

Jessica Asselin (21 digs), Robideau (16) and Wiker (13) led the defense.

“Kalli was setting well … and playing great defense,” Webber Heilman said.

Allie Gale had three aces in a row in the third game.

Wolves best Bremerton

Sequim shrugged off a tough, five-set loss to Port Angeles to open the season with a three-set rout of Bremerton on Sept. 17.

The Wolves pounced on the Knights for games of 25-14, 25-12 and 25-13.

Still, Webber Heilman said her team could have been sharper early on, particularly after holding a slim 15-14 lead in the first game. That’s when Wiker, a junior captain, stepped up with some tough serves.

“We started slow in the match, missing five serves and not moving well on defense,” she said. “Kalli … served ten points in a row with four aces. For the rest of the match we were serving tough.”

Wiker finished 26-of-28 on serves with a team-high nine aces. Robideau was 10-of-11 with four aces as the Wolves were 64-of-72 (89 percent) from the service line. Sequim finished with 16 aces overall.

The Wiker-Robideau combination worked well on offense, with Robideau earning a team-high nine kills and Wiker adding 11 assists and four kills.

Kendall Hastings had all four blocks for the Wolves, and Asselin added a team-high nine digs.

“After the first game we played much better on defense,” Webber Heilman said.

Mixed results at Tacoma tourney

The Wolves won two of five matches against schools from across the region at the Tacoma-Pierce County Volleyball Officials tourney on Sept. 21 at Washington High School in Tacoma.

Sequim dropped its first match to 3A Peninsula, 25-11, 25-10, 17-16.

“Peninsula ran a very quick offense which we have not seen yet,” Webber Heilman said. “We adjusted and played better the third game.”

In match No. 2, Sequim rebounded to top Thunder Mountain (Alaska), 26-24, 23-25 and 17-15.

“We changed our lineup to run a 5-1 with Kalli setting,” Webber Heilman said. “We also were serving very tough.”

In a tough-fought match to follow, Sequim fell 27-25, 19-25 and 15-13 to 1A Annie Wright.

In the playoff bracket, Sequim topped 1A Granite Falls 25-15, 25-7 in the first round before falling to 2A Orting 25-14, 25-17.

“It did not help that we had to sit out for over an hour before playing,” Webber Heilman said. “We were just too flat and not moving well.”

Looking ahead

Sequim, who dropped a non-league match to undefeated 1A Klahowya on Sept. 23, was scheduled to host North Kitsap on Sept. 24 — results were not available at press time.

The Wolves are at North Mason on Oct. 1 before hosting Kingston on Oct. 3 and rival Port Angeles on Oct. 8.

With teammate Kendall Hastings looking on, Sequim junior Kalli Wiker (21) looks to set a teammate against Bremerton on Sept. 17. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Sequim freshman Kendall Hastings, center, is all smiles in the second game of a three-game sweep of Bremerton on Sept. 17. Also pictured are Amanda Weller, left, and Malory Morey. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Sequim’s McKenna Hastings, center, looks to block a Bremerton attack from Nyaijah Johnson in the Wolves’ three-game sweep of the visiting Knights on Sept. 17. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell