Vikings beat scrappy Buccaneers 3-1 in volleyball

By Luke Caputo • October 15, 2025 1:30 am
Luke Caputo/Kitsap News Group photos The Vikings celebrate a successful point in a 3-1 NK road win over the Kingston Buccaneers Oct. 14.
Luke Caputo/Kitsap News Group photos The Vikings celebrate a successful point in a 3-1 NK road win over the Kingston Buccaneers Oct. 14.

The North Kitsap Vikings (8-3, 8-1 in Olympic League) beat the Kingston Buccaneers (6-7, 5-5 in OL) three sets to one in a road match Oct. 14.

The win keeps the Vikings in second place in league behind Bainbridge (12-0, 11-0 in OL), while the loss keeps the Bucs in fourth place in league. NK previously swept Kingston in three sets Sep. 19 at home.

“We had our starting middle [Livia Dunmire] out sick, so we had to adjust for this game,” NK coach Kaelea Makaiwi said. “I’m not taking anything away from Kingston; they played great this game.”

Kingston and NK were tied at 17 late in the first set after NK was down by multiple points. Nonetheless, Kingston managed to pull away with Bucs Evie Dawson, Maddie Brown, and Bella Lamaak making a strong defensive push, limiting NK’s ability to get the ball over the net and winning the first set 25-20.

Nonetheless, the Vikings generated a strong start to the second set, eventually jumping out to a 17-9 lead behind strong serves from outside hitter Emma Banzer and rallies from outside hitter Silvia Okunami and middle blocker Grace Clark.

Okunami continued her strong performance, leading NK to their first set win in the match at 25-12.

“We were trying really hard to find the holes [in their defense], that was what we were looking for,” Okunami said.

The Vikings continued to break away in the third set behind a strong defensive showing from right side hitter Emily MacKinnon and outside hitter Ellie Arns in the middle portion of NK’s side of the court. NK eventually won the third set 25-13.

Kingston managed to keep the fourth set close with Grace Mejia landing an emphatic serve over the net, keeping the set within two points and jumpstarting a scoring run for the Bucs, who eventually tied the set up at 19 apiece.

The match remained tied later on at 25. Clark landed a strong rally over the net, giving NK an advantage at 26-25, but Kingston managed to tie it back up at 27 apiece. In the end, Clark managed to hit the final match-winning rally over the net, solidifying the victory for the Vikings.

“The girls can play,” Kingston coach Andrew Stephens said. “They’ve been able to show it all season long against tough opponents.”