Cascade volleyball team remains unbeaten with wins over Okanogan, Cashmere

By Ian Dunn

Editor

The second 1A ranked Cascade Kodiak volleyball team earned Caribou Trail League victories over Okanogan and Cashmere last week. The team travelled to Okanogan on Oct. 10, winning 25-17, 25-20, 25-8. 

Megan Evans served the best of the year with her spike jump serve added 7 aces. Kaitlyn Craig added 4 aces, Analia Vasquez had 12 kills, Makena Daley had 9 kills and Ashley Ross had a good night hitting .500 with 6 kills and 3 blocks. Maddie Schiefelbein contributed with 12 digs and

Bailey Pearson did well in the right back with 7 digs. 

Last Saturday, the Kodiaks hosted Cashmere. It was senior night for Makena Ala ilima Daley, Analia Vasquez, Baily Pearson and Natalie Akers. Cascade won 25-16, 25-12, 25-8. 

“It was awesome. Great night to honor the four seniors. Emotional night for me because it was my last senior night. It was hard for me. The girls did something for me. It was emotional and appreciated,” said Cascade Head Coach Marni McMahon. 

Against teams like Okanogan and Cashmere, McMahon said they work on their error ratios. She said they have been giving up too many errors, 12-to-15 per set. It was a real focus this past week. 

“Trying to keep those errors, at minimum, under 10, would be ideal. Against Cashmere. that was our focus. We kept it under 10 in two of the three sets. It is just controlling our game and not giving easy points away because that type of game is going to hurt us when we play quality teams,” McMahon said. 

Cascade has a game at Omak on Thursday, then at Chelan on Oct. 24 to finish the regular season. Over the next couple weeks, McMahon said they will focusing on setting and digging. 

“We still have a lot of work to do in our defensive game. That’s going to be the big focus the next two weeks. On offensive, I think we’ll be all right. Defense is the biggest issue. Setting is something we’re working on, locating the ball well,” McMahon said. 

To prepare for the state playoffs, McMahon has been out scouting the top contenders for the 1A crown. 

“Right now, Lakeside is our biggest challenge. They are very good with a big front line like us. Lynden Christian is also a contender. Kings would be a team I would keep my eye on. I’ve scouted all three of those teams. They are quality teams. Those are teams I would not want to face early in the state tournament,” she said. 

The state tournament still relies on a draw system, not an RPI like basketball. McMahon calls it a crapshoot. An RPI system will start next year.  Currently, the WIAA puts all the names in a hat, separating the ones and twos. 

“They divy up all the ones and twos, but that doesn’t work because we have teams from other leagues that are ones in their league but not a one overall. Their league is really weak,” McMahon said. “We have a league with Lynden Christian, Kings and Cedarpark Christian. They are all number one teams, but they come out of one league. When they come out of districts, they all combine. LC will come out as a three seed because a team beat them in the district championship, but they’re really not a three seed. You might get a Kings or LC as a three, but they are really a one.”

McMahon said it is not a great system. She wakes up Sunday morning when the draw comes out, hoping for the best. You just have to have the mentality you have to beat those teams anyway, she said.  

Their championship year of 2014, they had the worst draw possible. 

“We had a really tough road. We had Freeman and Kalama. We had to get those those guys to get to the championship,” McMahon said. 

Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.