Eagles swept by Vikings

ARLINGTON — With a handful of seniors playing in front of their final home crowd on Oct. 22, the effort was there for Arlington — in fact, maybe a bit too much.

"I was a little worried about tonight, especially after looking at some of the girls after their pre-game," said head coach Cari Britt about an emotional senior night ceremony before suffering a 3-0 loss to Lake Stevens.

Britt's worries were realized in the first game when Arlington played like a team that wanted to make its final home game perfect. Timid at times, the Eagles had positioning and serve-receive problems from the get-go. A lack of communication led to a 10-3 Vikings run late in the game, resulting in a 25-14 win.

"When I called them in the first (time out), I said, 'You guys have to regroup and play together,'" Britt said. "And I think they did that."

Britt told her girls to adjust to the Vikings' taller front line, which had a number of blocks in game 1.

"We wanted to make their defense movie a little, so we tried to hit, tip and chip — and I think that made us more successful," Britt said.

But The Eagles had a tough time making the adjustment initially while Lake Stevens built a lead and finished the game, 25-17.

The final game was the most competitive, with the Arlington front line of Karissa Scarth, Amanda Bottini and Kenzi Jorgenson around the Viking defense. But with the score tied at 15-15, Lake Stevens went on an 8-0 run and took the game 25-18.

The loss dropped Arlington to 2-11 (0-7 Wesco).

After the match, Britt had nothing but compliments for her seniors and praised the leadership they displayed.

One of those seniors, libero Kirstin Wright, recorded 16 digs in the match, while Megan Abdo had 14 assists and Jorsenson led the team with six kills.

"I think this was the best offensive game I've seen Kenzie have," Britt said. "She attacked the net and was very active."

Other Arlington seniors included Baley Abdo, Bottini, Marissa Elgarico and Scarth.

Click here for more photos.

Contact Arlington Times Sports Reporter Travis Sherer at tsherer@marysvilleglobe.com or 360 659-1300 Ext. 5054.

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