Saturday Match to Watch: Olympia vs La Conner

<p>It’s that time of the year again! The high school volleyball season is progressing at full pace in the state of Washington and we’re all enjoying all the exciting prospects of the Evergreen State in action once again.</p> <p>Twice a week, we’ll use this space to recommend some matches to keep and eye on and, most importantly, some of the most interesting prospects you’ll want to watch if you have an opportunity.</p> <p>This is a can’t-miss match for Saturday, October 9:</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Olympia vs La Conner</strong></p> <p>The Bears from the Olympia High School in the state’s capital have won eight of their first 14 matches this season. The team led by head coach Laurie Creighton seems to have find its form recently, though, as they head in to the match with five straight victories. Olympia has 2-1 win record in the 4A South Puget Sound District.</p> <p>The Braves from the La Conner High School in Northwest Washington are one of just a handful of teams that remain undefeated in the season. The group of players led by head coach Suzanne Marble has won all of their nine matches so far, including seven in the 1B/2B Northwest District.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Players to Watch – Olympia</strong></p> <p><strong>Kate Johnson – Right Sider – Club: Oly Reign – 2022</strong></p> <p>A 6’1” right sider, Kate Johnson is Olympia’s most used and most effective offensive player. The senior has been using her size and power to help the team scoring points and currently leads the Bears with 71 kills in 24 sets, averaging three per set. Johnson has also produced 11 blocks and 15 digs for her team.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="97145" first="Taryn" last="Wilson"] – Libero</strong> <strong>– Club: Capital Volleyball Club – 2022</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="97145" first="Taryn" last="Wilson"] has been doing a great job this season as Olympia’s libero. The 5’5” defensive stud has taken the lead in the team’s backcourt efforts and has been producing extremely well, with 108 digs (4.5 per set), 57 passes and seven aces in just 24 sets.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14201789/5e5cf0a6bd758f12f8121984" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Players to Watch – La Conner </strong></p> <p><strong>Ellie Marble – Outside Hitter – Club: Skagit Island – 2023</strong></p> <p>Ellie Marble has developed a reputation as one of the most promising players in the entire state for good reason. Last season’s District’s MVP, the six-foot outside hitter is having another great season with the Braves. Marble leads the team’s offense with 142 kills in 28 sets (5.1 per set) and an impressive 55.9% kill rate. She’s also produced 92 digs, 84 passes and 29 aces.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13355823/5db2157664deb90df0d599fc" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Rachel Cram – Libero – 2022</strong></p> <p>La Conner should be proud of having on the same team an offensive star of Marble’s caliber and a defensive stud in Rachel Cram. The 5’6” libero is a stud for the Braves and keeps things under control in the team’s backcourt with her technical and intelligent game that has generated 101 digs (3.7 per set), 83 passes and 14 aces for the team. She has recently committed to play basketball for Carroll College.</p> <p><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11776657/61017efb19a58c063494b578" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>