Community Sports
Sports Beat: Peninsula wins volleyball rivalry game
We start this Sports Beat with the game of the week, a battle for local volleyball supremacy. The Gig Harbor Tides came into the Peninsula gymnasium on a roll and looking to keep their conference championship hopes alive on Tuesday, Oct. 11.
But Seahawks coach Katrina Cardinal came fittingly dressed in all black as her team laid Gig Harbor’s plans to rest. Peninsula (7-2, 6-1 South Sound Conference) defeated Gig Harbor (7-3, 5-2) 3-0.
Peninsula senior Langley Griffin serves against Gig Harbor. The Seahawks swept the Tides 3-0. Bryce Carithers
The Seahawks were led by do-it-all senior Langley Griffin, who was dominant in her last home game against the Tides.
Griffin was on a different level, blasting spikes, serving aces, digging out tough shots, hitting cross-court winners and flying around the court.
“She is an incredible athlete, who has worked really hard both in the weight room and on the volleyball court to be the elite athlete that she is,” Cardinal said. “She is a star in the front row but my favorite part of that kid is her relentless pursuit on the ball. She has the ability to run down the ball anywhere in the gym to save a play.”
Peninsula’s only league loss was by a 3-2 score to Class 3A No. 1 North Thurston. The Seahawks got a measure of revenge by sweeping the Rams 2-0 in the Capital City Invite tournament last weekend. The rematch in an official league match is set for Oct. 27 at the Rams’ gym.
Junior libero Evalyn Sutherland plays with as much heart as anyone on the floor, according to Seahawk coach Katrina Cardinal. Bryce Carithers
Gig Harbor was led Tuesday by junior Lydia Ward, who is athletic, versatile and plays with intelligence. Coach Slade Klein did all he could, calling timeouts, employing different lineups and trying various strategies. However, they were simply up against a complete team in Peninsula, ranked No. 11 in WIAA’s RPI rankings.
Tennis: Siddall wins battle of the Elliot(t)s
Gig Harbor (14-1) got all it could handle from Peninsula (4-6) in a 4-1 win on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
The contest for the best local high school boys player was a battle of Elliot(t)s. Peninsula ace Elliott Siddall edged Gig Harbor’s Elliot Strachan in a second-set tiebreak to win the match 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).
The match was a battle of contrasting styles.
Peninsula senior Elliott Siddall won a close match over Elliot Strachan of Gig Harbor, 6-2, 7-6(7-4). Bryce Carithers
Siddall hits with pace, has a first serve with punch and can control his backhand. He is quick around the court and plays with tempered emotions.
He barely missed out on a shot at state last year in a tiebreak and has been working to improve his performance in breakers.
“That was a tough one last year but I’ve been concentrating on playing better in tie-breaks and I haven’t lost one so far this year, so it’s getting better,” the senior said.
The Tides’ Strachan is long and angular and attacks the net with purpose. On Wednesday, he became stronger as the match wore on as he began to hit out instead of just returning safe balls to his opponent.
Gig Harbor’s Elliot Strachan sprints to send a back hand winner down the line. Bryce Carithers
The two may meet again at the conference championships next week at the Canterwood Country Club, tennis courts.
Second singles was the most competitive match of the day and ended with a fantastic volley from the Tides’ Dylan Batista to beat the Seahawks’ Sam Babbitt 7-5 in the third.
Batista lunged for a backhand save near the net and the ball fluttered toward Babbitt, who was also near the net and only 10 feet away. Babbitt leaped and swatted a smash that was traveling nearly 100 mph when Batista flashed his racquet and redirected the ball cross court for a winner.
Gig Harbor’s Dylan Batista won the second singles match on a unbelievable volley. Bryce Carithers
The Tides went on to win the match by the strength of their three doubles teams. Gig Harbor’s No. 1 team of Hugh Vicente and Rylan Coovert cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 victory. Vicente has smooth ground strokes and the sophomore may be the Tides’ ace in the future. Coovert plays with poise.
Cross Country: Gig Harbor girls are WIAA’s Team of the Month
The WIAA honored the Gig Harbor girls cross country team as the Class 3A Team of the Month for September, after the Tides won an invitational meet at Pacific Lutheran University, with five runners finishing among the top 15 contestants.
The girls team is currently ranked second in Class 3A behind conference foe Central Kitsap. The Peninsula Seahawks, led by two elite runners, are ranked 9th.
The Gig Harbor boys team is ranked second, behind only Seattle Prep.
Congratulations to Gig Harbor Girls Cross Country for being selected as a @LesSchwab Team of the Month for September
READ & NOMINATE: https://t.co/D8MMSHDstD#TOTM #wapride pic.twitter.com/sG3YOTngb2
— WIAA (@wiaawa) October 7, 2022
The South Sound Conference cross country championship is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 20, at Fort Steilacoom Park. The girls varsity race begins at 1:25 p.m., the boys varsity race at 2:25 p.m.
The district championship will be Oct. 29 at Chambers Bay and the state championship will be in Pasco on Nov. 5.
Exciting 200 freestyle highlights swim meet
Gig Harbor won nine of 12 events in a recent girls swimming dual meet against host Peninsula.
Tides coach Mike Kelly’s team returns veterans Ashlyn Pepich, who swam at state last year, and state relayers Alexis Tujo and Amelia Henzel.
The team also welcomes freshman phenom Kaitlyn LaTendresse to the pool. LaTendresse peeled two seconds off her previous best time to win the 200 intermediate medley against Peninsula.
The Tides won the match 105-78, but the 200 freestyle was finger tip to finger tip for the win. The Tides’ Tujo battled lap for lap with Peninsula’s Brogan Braaten, according to Tides coach Mike Kelly. In the end Braaten just lunged at the wall to win at 2:12.41 to 2:12.65. A two-tenths of a second difference after two minutes of swimming neck to neck supplied some heart-pounding action.
Check out next weeks Sport Beat as we get back to the pitch and the gridiron to report on the soccer happenings and the football results from this weeks games.