Islander Spikers Defeat Bellevue

Despite a slow start, the Mercer Island Girls Volleyball (9-4, 9-2 KingCo) squad broke a two-game losing streak by defeating the Wolverines in 4 sets in an Oct. 12 match-up at .

Missed serves by Bellevue (4-9, 3-8 KingCo), and key blocks and kills by Junior Kris Brackmann, helped the Islanders pull out the first set, 25-22. But Bellevue took the second set by shaking things up and disrupting the Islander's rhythm with tips and mis-hits, 22-25. The Islanders were back on track in the 3rd and 4th sets with consistent play that decisively put the Wolverines away by scores of 25-16 and 25-14.

Coach Susan McKay said Mercer Island is within striking distance of KingCo league-leaders Mt. Si (14-4, 11-1 KingCo) after a Sept. 29 victory over the Wildcats. The Islanders will face them in their final conference game of the season on Oct. 24.

"It was important that we win this one," said McKay, "to build back our confidence." "The biggest difference tonight was our mental focus in the 3rd and 4th games." She was pleased with the confidence and aggressiveness she saw tonight.

Junior Kris Brackmann, said the slow start was evidence that they are still in a slump, a losing streak that started after Mercer Island's win over Mt Si, KingCo's leading team. "At the end we looked good, but we need to fix this" to get back to where we were.

Next up for the lady Islanders is Sammamish Monday (Oct. 17) night at Sammamish 7 p.m., followed by Wednesday's  (Oct. 19) 7 p.m. home game against Liberty is Senior Night. 

Game Scores:

Mercer Island wins, 3-1

Team Stats: