Mountlake Terrace volleyball delivered a dominant performance on Monday, defeating Cascade 3-0 with set scores of 25-15, 25-15, and 25-13. The Hawks, who improved their record to 4-2, capitalized on defensive gaps left by the Bruins, who dropped to 1-3.
Senior setter Emerson Alley exploited the opposing team's deep defensive positioning during the initial set. Recognizing the open space in front of the net, she executed a wrist flick to tip the ball over for a point, helping Mountlake Terrace establish an 8-7 lead. Following an assist from Alley, junior Makenna Davidson tipped the ball for another score, and senior Lia Brown concluded a lengthy exchange with her own tip to extend the advantage to 10-7.
The Hawks maintained their offensive pressure throughout the match, pulling ahead 16-7 in the first set after a nine-point run. Despite Cascade adjusting their positioning to cover more front-court territory, Mountlake Terrace continued to find scoring opportunities.
Alley noted that the team’s strategy involved mixing short tips with deeper shots to keep the defense off balance. She explained that they observed the opponents were positioned far back, which made short tips effective, but they also varied their attack by pushing the ball deep before returning to the shorter shots.
This victory marks a significant step for a team that finished the previous season with an 8-10 record. Under first-year head coach Jean Kellogg, who returned to the program after an eight-year medical hiatus and served as interim coach in 2020, the team is transitioning from a reactive style to one focused on game control. Kellogg, who previously coached at Lynnwood and held various assistant roles within the Mountlake Terrace program, emphasized that the players are learning to dictate the pace of play rather than simply responding to the ball. She highlighted the expansion of the team's offensive toolkit, including the use of tips, chips, and corner shots, as a key development.
Kellogg expressed confidence in the squad's growing belief in their ability to manage the game's flow, noting that the players are understanding they can control their own play.
Offensively, Lia Brown led the Hawks with 18 kills and 12 digs. Alley contributed 26 assists while playing only the first two sets. Junior Kenzie Mahealani Bentosino recorded 25 digs and three aces. Sophomore Jillian Brown added 10 kills, and Davidson tallied 10 digs and six kills. For Cascade, senior Lucy Cox recorded six kills and one ace, while senior Maggie Christensen provided 15 assists, three kills, and one ace.
While the offense was prolific, several players credited the team's defensive effort for the win, an area Kellogg has prioritized for improvement. Bentosino described the team's approach as having a "go mentality," noting that they consistently pursued the ball regardless of physical contact or difficult positioning. She stated that this relentless effort on defense was a primary factor in their success.
Mountlake Terrace extended its winning streak with a 3-0 victory over Cascade, overcoming early challenges across all three sets.
In the opening frame, the Bruins closed a nine-point Hawks lead to within four points, 17–13, thanks to a kill and an ace from Cox in consecutive rallies. The Hawks, however, pulled away with a six-point surge, largely fueled by the Brown sisters, before sealing the frame with a Cascade serve error on set point for a 25–15 win.
The second set unfolded at a deliberate pace, with both teams trading unforced errors to reach 6–6. A Cascade service error gave Mountlake Terrace its first edge at 7–6, and the Hawks responded with a coordinated offensive push: Alley set Lia Brown and junior Campbell Meek to consecutive kills, then added an ace to push ahead 10–6. Cascade narrowed the gap to one point when Caleigh Tibig, finishing with four kills and an ace, converted a hard-earned rally point, punctuated by key digs from Cox and Kodie Rasmussen. The Hawks regained control with a kill from Claire Dalan followed by back-to-back aces from Meek, stretching the lead to 16–11. Alley closed the set strongly, feeding Lia Brown for three final attacks and delivering the final ace, while Bentosino assisted Jillian Brown on the set-clinching point.
Coach Kellogg noted the team’s ongoing development in handling mental lapses, with leadership stepping up during critical stretches. “It was pretty slow, so just working through that,” Alley observed. “Trying to build our own speed and set our own pace.”
For the third set, Kellogg adjusted lineups, inserting reserves and repositioning starters to simulate diverse in-game scenarios. The approach yielded quick results: Davidson delivered two straight kills early, then set Lia Brown to cap a four-point burst that opened up a 12–5 lead. Cascade briefly threatened with two consecutive kills from Cox to pull within 15–11, but the Brown sisters responded with timely attacks. Mountlake Terrace sealed the sweep with a seven-point finish, highlighted by three aces from Bentosino and two more from Lia Brown in a 25–13 frame win.
“We’re gelling as a team so much better this year,” Lia Brown said. “Everyone is just like, I don’t know, in it.”
For a Hawks squad missing the district tournament since 2022 and failing to advance beyond the first rounds since 2013, this season carries renewed promise. “We’re just trying to build that game to a competitive level to compete with Archbishop Murphy, Monroe and the top teams. Everett, and we’re moving there,” Kellogg said. “That’s our goal, ultimately, is to get to districts and compete to make that top four, five that go to state. So that’s our goal: not only to get to districts but get to the next level. And I think we have the talent to do it, and we’re just building it every day.”