SK volleyball goes 1-2 at districts to be eliminated
Published 1:30 am Monday, November 17, 2025
Frustration encapsulates the Wolves’ end to the season.
The No. 9-seeded South Kitsap Wolves fell to the No. 8-seeded Kennedy Catholic Lancers 3-0 Nov. 14 in the first round of the District 3/4 4A volleyball tournament at Frontier Middle School in Tacoma.
Later in the day, SK went on to beat the No. 16-seed Skyview Storm in the losers’ bracket of the tournament 3-2, but then lost to the No. 6-seeded Graham-Kapowsin Eagles 3-0 Nov. 15 to be eliminated.
“I’m just frustrated because we had an amazing week of practice. We just couldn’t pass the ball and serve and receive, which just sets you up for failure,” SK coach CJ Scott said.
The Wolves held a lead for a majority of the beginning of the first set against Kennedy Catholic, leading 11-8 behind strong sets from middle blocker Lizzy Pugh and outside hitter Kohana Castro.
Castro was able to tie the game back up at 13 apiece after SK let up a minor scoring run with a hit over to the right portion of the court. However, SK went down 19-16 following some defensive miscues, warranting a timeout from Scott. Middle blocker Madelyn Schmidt and company were able to play some solid defense after the timeout, but couldn’t stop the Lancers from winning the first set 25-19.
The second set proved to be troublesome for the Wolves, as they went down 17-9 after initially leading in the set. Castro, Pugh, and outside hitter Leilani Killian all had difficulty stopping the Lancers’ serves and spikes, eventually letting Kennedy Catholic jump out to a double-digit lead at 21-10.
The Lancers eventually won the second set 25-12.
“We just talked about wanting it and getting that aggressive mindset,” Castro said. “Like having that mindset of like this could be our last point.”
The Wolves responded, jumping out to an early 6-3 lead in the third set behind strong serves from Pugh. Nonetheless, the Lancers pounced on the Wolves with strong sets and serves, going on an 11-6 scoring run to give them the lead at 14-9.
Killian and Pugh attempted to block incoming serves multiple times throughout, but couldn’t do it consistently enough to prevent Kennedy Catholic from striking offensively. The Wolves managed to cut into the lead due to Lancer miscues in a 4-0 scoring run, warranting a Kennedy-Catholic timeout, but couldn’t pull away with the win, falling 25-22 in the last set.
“I think physically, we’re fine,” Scott said. “It’s the mental part of it, and this was a worry coming into this year with eight seniors. Sometimes you get to the end of the year, they start to think about other stuff.”
In 3A volleyball districts, No. 4 seed Central Kitsap advanced to state by beating No. 5 seed Timberline 3-0 Nov. 14. The Cougars then lost in the semifinals 3-0 to No. 1 seed North Thurston Nov. 15. At state, CK will be the No. 8 seed and will play No. 9 seed Seattle Prep in the opening round Nov. 21 at 3:30 p.m. at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
