Spartans stay undefeated in volleyball with easy win over Kingston

The Bainbridge Spartan volleyball team looks like a force to be reckoned with in the Olympic League this season, as the squad picked up another victory at home against Kingston, three sets to none, to stay undefeated.

“We’ve seen, I guess, a little more than half the teams,” Bainbridge coach Holly Rohrbacher said. “I mean, we haven’t had a chance to see many of the other district teams to know where we stand on a district level, but we’re feeling good going into the Olympic League.”

Bainbridge took control of the match early, rattling off consecutive volleys and digs to give them a five-point lead over the Bucs early in the first set. The Spartans eventually won the set 25-17.

The second set of the match saw Bainbridge leap out to a 10-1 lead behind scores from Cate Torrell and defensive specialist Farrah Colby. Kingston was able to capitalize on some of the Spartans’ mistakes later on in the set, earning four more points to cut the deficit to nine at 14-5. Bainbridge eventually won the set 25-10.

“They’re [Kingston] really scrappy for sure,” Rohrbacher said. “You can tell, you know, they’ll do anything to keep the ball off the ground.”

Kingston got out to a fast start in the third set, earning three points behind Bainbridge defensive miscues and a strong defensive performance from defensive specialists Shay Power and Julia Eldridge. Nonetheless, Bainbridge quickly took the lead back after Spartan defensive specialist Julia Eldridge landed multiple blocks along the net, giving the Spartans an 8-6 lead.

The set remained tight with both the Spartans and Bucs rattling off consecutive volleys, keeping the match within two points for a majority of the match. Rollins Anderson managed to turn the tide for Bainbridge, giving them a three-point lead. Middle blocker Carmen MacCullloch landed a strong spike to cap off the set, giving the win to the Spartans at 25-22.

“We’ve got to know we can play against these teams because we’ve played North Kitsap, Washington, Steilacoom, and now Bainbridge,” Kingston coach Andy Stephens said. “We gotta know we can compete against them and maybe steal a match here and there to advance.”