State 1A second ranked Kodiak volleyball team earns straight set wins over Omak, Chelan

The Cascade Kodiaks improved to 4-0 in Caribou Trail League play and 9-0 overall with wins over Omak and Chelan last week. 

Amazingly, the Kodiaks have not lost a league game since 2011. Cascade Head Coach Marni McMahon said the success of the program is a group effort. 

“My coaching staff, great parents, great community, my husband, the club program. I think it really comes down to the village. There is a lot of hands on deck when it comes to the success of the program,” McMahon said. 

Cascade is currently ranked second in the state 1A behind 9-0 Lakeside. Last week, Cascade beat Omak in straight sets at home on Oct. 3. On Oct 5, they took on longtime rival Chelan, but in the end, the Goats were no match, losing 25-18, 25-16, 25-20. 

“For the most part, it was pretty good. Still working on that serving game. It’s still something we are working on. It’s going to be a roller coaster ride with serving a little bit. It was better. All in all, the first two games, our transition game was pretty good,” McMahon said. “The third set, we got a little lazy defensively. Missed timing on blocks. For the most part, I was pretty pleased with our performance across the board.”

For the most part, McMahon said her team needs to focus on themselves to be successful. 

“They have a match plan, but it came down to what we did. We’re going to beat ourselves, either mentally or physically. They are battling themselves more than the team across the net. Physically, we are a better team across the board in all aspects, but we have to be there mentally,” McMahon said. “You have to be calm in a loud environment. If you are strong there, they can win anywhere because they have the physicality to win.”

Makena Ala’ilima-Daley had 15 kills, 5 aces, 6 digs and 3 blocks. Analia Vasquez had 10 kills, Abby Brown had 20 assists. Maddie Schiefelbein had 15 digs. 

Cascade played at Okanogan (0-4, 3-5) on Oct. 10. Results were unavailable before press time. On Thursday, Cascade hosts Cashmere (1-3, 3-7). It will be senior night for Daley, Vasquez, Baelee Pearson, and Natalie Akers. 

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