Vikings win two in league

Published 4:00 pm Saturday, October 4, 2003

KINGSTON — The North Kitsap volleyball team has its league schedule looming, and head coach Clay Blackwood wants to break Vikings of a bad habit before they get there.

The Vikings have shown a tendency to let other teams creep back into matches, and that was apparent as North picked up two close wins this week — wins that Blackwood felt shouldn’t have been as close.

“We’re not finishing teams off, and that’s kind of frustrating,” Blackwood said.

North Kitsap went to five games against both Port Angeles and Foss in non-league matches, beating the former on Tuesday 25-14, 23-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-10 and topping the latter on Thursday 25-15, 25-15, 22-25, 20-25, 15-7.

The win over the Roughriders was led by Kearney Bangs, who has worked her way from the C team to varsity; Bangs had 18 assists. Liz Tomsyck added 13 kills and nine aces, and Megan Brose had 11 kills.

North dominated the first game, then let Port Angeles slip past them in the next two before playing stronger in the fourth and bolting ahead in the fifth.

Both of the games Port Angeles won were tied at 18.

“We felt we should have won that one in three,” Blackwood said later.

Against the Foss Falcons, Tomsyck had nine aces, Kelly Tilton had nine assists, and Buckner had eight kills.

Jamie Heins had 12 digs in the match.

While the Vikings (6-6) are still picking up wins heading into the season’s first league match against Shelton Oct. 7, Blackwood would like to see them pick up their intensity as well.

“I haven’t found out what motivates this team,” he said. “But we’ll find it.”

North’s home games are held at Kingston Junior High this season as the North Kitsap High School gym is renovated. The team has been practicing before school in order to get practice time.

They host Shelton at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 7, then visit Gig Harbor Oct. 9.

They will host Central Kitsap, which beat North earlier in the season, Oct. 14.