Last Saturday, Sept. 26, the Edmonds-Woodway High School junior varsity volleyball team played host to 10 area schools at the Edmonds-Woodway Invite. Led by new coach Erin Lauber, herself a former Warrior volleyball star, the JV Warriors went on to win the event, taking first place in the gold bracket against Seattle’s Holy Names Academy.

The Warriors started strong with a 3-0 win against district rival Mountlake Terrace and 2-1 win over Seattle Preparatory School. The victories secured them a spot in the gold bracket along with Woodinville, Kamiak and Holy Names.

The first match of the gold bracket was against Woodinville, which had beaten the Warriors at the beginning of the season. This was a contest that Coach Lauber was excited about. “I think the rematch against Woodinville was a true test of progress and growth that the team has made,” Lauber said. “It is one thing to match up against a new team, it is another to match up against a team that has already beaten you.”

The Warriors showed no signs of nervousness as they battled through a tough match, beating the Falcons 2-1. The final match against Holy Names was another struggle, with both teams fighting hard for every point, but the Warriors eventually prevailed 2-0.

When asked about her team and their performance, Lauber said: “What’s great about this group is that they have so much joy playing the game and especially playing with one another. It was thrilling to see them play with such heart and raw enthusiasm throughout the whole day, and then to be able to win the final game was just the icing on the cake.”

— Story by Karl Swenson