The Timberline High School girls volleyball defeated River Ridge High School on September 19, 2024, in 3A PSL league play 25-16, 25-14 and 25-13 in a straight-set victory in Lacey. The match was the first meeting for the teams in the new Puget Sound League held at Timberline.
Timberline (4-0, 4-0 PSL) played a strong set of games and easily defeated River Ridge (1-4, 0-4 PSL) who struggled to play consistently. The Blazers were led by their stand out duo of outside hitters junior Destiny Mars and sophomore Kinley Smith. River Ridge had moments of great play and led one of the games but were not able to overcome the play of the Blazers.
Timberline head coach Matt Monnastes thought his team played great. “We are learning how to control what happens on our side of the court and how to react when things get chaotic and I was proud of our girls, staying focused and how they continued to run the things we want to run,” Monnastes stated. “We have a strong core and we are growing in maturity and composure and understanding. There were a few crazy things tonight and that is how volleyball works out as it’s going to go back and forth.”
River Ridge will look to rebound moving into more league play. River Ridge head coach Janay Creamer loved the opportunity to play in a cross-town rivalry game and is looking forward to hosting Timberline later in the season. “We played with a lot of heart and I hope we can bring that same energy when we play them later,” Creamer noted. “As we move forward, we are coming together as a team and I’m really proud of that and we will be working on our focus and on closing games out as we hope to build a reputation of making people respect us when we get on their court.”
Timberline travels to North Thurston next Tuesday in a battle of undefeated teams in Lacey. North Thurston swept both matches last year but was beaten by the Blazers at the 2024 August preseason Jamboree held in Tumwater.
Monnastes looks to continue to build consistency moving into league play. “We are looking forward to all of our upcoming games and the battle against North Thurston. We just want to continue to get better. We are looking to peak at the end of season which means hard work in practice, making sure we are improving our conditioning and continuing to grow as a team in the roles we play and our play.”
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