HS Volleyball: Puyallup's Reese Sheppard Earns 4,000th Assist As Vikings Win Over Olympia

10/22/24

Puyallup Vikings 3, Olympia Bears 0 (25-18, 25-16, 26-24)

(Puyallup, WA) The SPSL has four of the top ten teams according to the RPI. Curtis is undefeated and number one, Emerald Ridge is fourth in the RPI, and Olympia and Puyallup are sixth and tenth. Olympia was coming into the match with a 10-3 overall record and 6-2 in the SPSL while Puyallup was 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the SPSL. The winner of the match would take control of third place in the SPSL, which can help seeding in the District Tournament.

Set One

In the first set, Puyallup got off to a great start with a 7-2 lead, as the Vikings would get kills from Sienna Hanson to jump out to the five-point lead. Puyallup would add to their lead to make it 10-3, with Haylee Tavares getting a kill for the Vikings. Olympia battled back, winning three straight points to make it 10-6 Puyallup still leading, including an outstanding rally that saw Addison Wilson get the kill for the Bears. Later in the set, Kerlee and Tavares would each get a kill for Puyallup to help the Vikings lead get up to 17-10, forcing Olympia to call their second timeout. Puyallup built up a 21-13 lead, but Olympia battled back, as Grace Scriven earned a point for the Bears and so did Holstrom as Olympia made it 23-17, but Puyallup would close out the opening set with a 25-18 win.

Set Two

In the second set, Olympia got their first lead of the match with Ellie Johnson earning a kill for the Bears, but Puyallup went on a 7-0 run, with the help of freshman Tyler Ghorley getting four aces to put the Vikings up 7-1. Haylee Tavares and Sienna Hanson would earn kills for Puyallup to build their lead quickly up to 12-3 in the set and Sam Pirillis and Hanson would make it 14-4 as Puyallup had a great start to the set. Olympia would get kills from Tinashe Magura and Ellie Johnson to make it 16-9, but Puyallup answered with kills from Ava Knapp and Haylee Tavares to make it 21-11. Puyallup would get an ace from Georgia Kafentzis to make it 23-12, Sienna Hanson would make it set point with a kill, but Olympia would score the next four points to make it 24-16. Puyallup’s Sienna Hanson would get the kill to close out the second set and give the Vikings a 25-16 second set win and they took a 2-0 lead going into the third set.

Set Three

In the third set, the first 19 points were alternated between Puyallup and Olympia. Rachel Dixon started the third set with a kill to give Puyallup a 1-0 lead but Grace Holstrom countered with a kill of her own to tie it at one. Tinashe Magura got a kill for Olympia later in the set to tie it at three, but Sienna Hanson gave Puyallup the lead at 4-3 before Ellie Johnson tied it up at four with a kill of her own.

This back-and-forth scoring continued until Reese Sheppard reached a career milestone. The Puyallup senior reached 4,000 assists when she set up Ava Knapp for the kill. There was a brief pause as the Puyallup fans, players, and coaches gave Sheppard a standing ovation for her accomplishment.

Puyallup held a 7-6 lead after Sheppard’s 4,000th assist, but the Vikings also won the next point to take an 8-6 lead, the first point that wasn’t a side out in the set. Olympia quickly tied it at eight and at nine before the Bears took hold of the lead at 12-9 to force Puyallup to call their first timeout of the match. Later in the set, Puyallup tied it at 16 when Reese Sheppard got a block, and after a great rally again, Rachel Dixon got the kill for the Vikings. Olympia would get a four-point lead at 20-16 when Ellie Johnson had a pair of kills for the Bears. Olympia would get their lead up to 23-19 when Johnson had another kill and Aubrey McBride got an ace for the Bears. Puyallup would win the next four points as Sienna Hanson had two kills and a block to tie the match at 23. Olympia earned the next point for force set point at 24-23 but Puyallup tied it at 24 after Olympia was called for a lift. Puyallup would get a combo block from Reese Sheppard and Sienna Hanson to make it match point for Puyallup, and the Vikings would capitalize as Rachel Dixon got the kill to get the 26-24 set win and win 3-0 on their home floor.

Our elisportsnetwork.com Match MVP went to Puyallup’s Reese Sheppard. With Sheppard getting her 4,000th assist, the senior also shined at the net with some great blocks, served well, and set up her hitters for key points to get Puyallup a big SPSL victory. Haylee Tavares, Sienna Hanson, and Ava Knapp were great for Puyallup at the net, and Tyler Ghorley, getting four aces in six points for Puyallup, were all in contention for Match MVP. Olympia had great performances from Grace Holstrom at the net, Ellie Johnson had many kills for the Bears, and River Sutch made multiple crucial hustle plays along the back line for Olympia.

Puyallup improves to 9-3 overall and 7-2 in SPSL play, as Puyallup now is in solo third place in the league. Puyallup hosts Bethel at home on Wednesday before ending their regular season next week at Bonney Lake.

Olympia drops to 10-4 overall and 6-3 in SPSL play. The Bears are now fourth, tied with South Kitsap, but Olympia did beat South Kitsap earlier in the season. Olympia finishes their regular season on the road with matches against Spanaway Lake on Wednesday, and Sumner next week.

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