TACOMA — South Kitsap coach C.J. Scott felt like he was watching a rerun.
For the third time this season, his team was competitive — but not quite good enough — to outlast rival Central Kitsap.
The Wolves’ 25-21, 25-19, 25-23 setback Saturday morning against the Cougars at Mount Tahoma High School also eliminated them from the Class 4A Narrows League playoffs. South finished the season with a 4-9 record.
“All three of those games were there until the late teens,” coach CJ Scott said. “They need to learn how to win and they need to learn how to push through to win.”
The Wolves closed out the season with four consecutive losses, including a 25-13, 25-5, 25-10 loss in their final regular-season match Tuesday at Gig Harbor. Despite that, Scott did not feel his team’s issues stemmed from a lack of confidence.
“Up until the Gig Harbor game, I would say confidence,” Scott said. “But we had three really good days of practice and we were ready to go.”
Scott expressed disappointment that the program’s three seniors — Rachel Bauman, Hannah Spohn and Mikaela Strutz — never had an opportunity to compete at districts.
“It’s horrible for our seniors to never get to go to districts,” he said. “We’re going to miss them a lot. They really helped out a lot, especially with it being my first year.”
For those with eligibility remaining, Scott hopes the tournament serves as a learning experience.
“We’ve got a lot of girls back who experienced this for the first time,” he said. “Hopefully, it will translate into the future.”
With freshmen moving up to compete in all sports at South, the Wolves fielded a C team for the first time in addition to their junior-varsity squad this year.
“We’ve got some athletes coming up,” Scott said. “We just need to teach them how to play volleyball and teach them how to win.”
A physical education teacher at Sidney Glen Elementary School, Scott said when he took over the program he also wanted to develop a recreational league for youths to spur more interest locally in the sport. Scott said that will begin in January and will run for six weeks. Registration, which is $35, for girls in fifth through eighth grade is 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 19 and Nov. 21 at the Marcus Whitman Junior High commons.
“It’s been a great first year,” he said. “I’m really excited about continuing on and getting us where we need to be.”
Class 4A Narrows League Tournament
Central Kitsap d. South Kitsap 25-21, 25-19, 25-23
South Kitsap-Hannah Spohn 9 kills; Courtney Schmidt 7 kills; Mikaela Strutz 8 assists; Shannon Laupola 3 blocks.
