Blaine volleyball undefeated after close five-set match at Sehome

Blaine outside hitter Josie Deming gets a kill in the fourth set in a Blaine win at Sehome High School on September 14. / Photo by Oliver Lazenby

By Oliver Lazenby

Blaine varsity volleyball, led by seniors Josie Deming and Camryn Vosloh, persevered over Sehome in a tense five-set match on Thursday, September 14.

Vosloh had 12 kills and three blocks, while Deming hit 8 kills and scooped up 20 digs against Sehome’s precise offense. Kati Newton contributed with nine kills and Ashley Dickerson had four blocks.

Sehome was Blaine’s toughest opponent yet. Sehome has a 1–2 record this year, but they often finish near the top of the 2A Northwest Conference. The match  leaves the Borderites undefeated after two matches and a jamboree in which they beat all three opponents.

After falling behind two sets to one, Blaine dominated in the fourth. The back-and-forth continued into the fifth game, with Sehome tying the score at 1, 2 and 3. Blaine pulled away with Alexis Hallberg, Vosloh, Newton and Deming all smashing kills at Sehome. Final set scores were 19–25, 25–23, 25–11, 20–25 and 11–15. The fifth set is played to 15, rather than 25.

“I don’t think it ever crossed my mind that we were going to lose in that fifth game,” Deming said. “We were all super excited and pumped up. We had that confidence.”

The win didn’t come easy. While Blaine dominated in power, its attacks ricocheting off Sehome players and out of bounds, Sehome hitters responded with accurate shots into the gaps in Blaine’s defense.

“They did a really good job at hitting certain spots,” Deming said. “They could hit line and angles so we had to be on our feet for everything.”

Blaine’s upperclassmen dominated at the net, but freshman setter Kylah Wilskey  set them up with 36 assists.

Even with its recent success, the team has areas it could improve on in order to compete with conference-leading teams such as Ferndale and Lynden Christian, head coach Bryan Clausen said.

“We need to get better at serve receives and communicate a little better,” he said. “There’s always a few things you need to improve, but that’s a good thing at this point in the season.”

Blaine’s next match will be at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, September 21 at Mount Baker (0–2). The next home game is Tuesday, September 26 against Nooksack Valley (1–1).