The Bothell High volleyball team had cookies for the first time this season on Thursday evening, following a dominant nonconference victory on its home floor.
The reason? The Cougars (2-0) get cookies when they hold an opponent under 10 points in a game. Bothell rolled past Shorecrest 25-10, 25-14, 25-9 on Thursday.
Senior captain Sierra Myers said it was an early-season lesson in intensity.
“We have really big goals,” she said. “We want to win the KingCo championship, go to state and place high in state, so it’s like, ‘Yes, these aren’t very challenging teams,’ but we’re trying to push ourselves to the next level.”
The intensity hit high-gear in the first game, when Bothell pulled away from Shorecrest after trailing 4-3. The second game hit a lull, but the intensity returned in the third game as the Cougars put Shorecrest to bed.
Bothell was without senior Alexa Torres on Thursday, a major piece of the Bothell offense. Torres was on a recruiting trip and is expected to return for Tuesday’s game against Everett, but on Thursday her absence meant the Cougars were down to nine varsity players.
Fellow senior Camille Gilmore stepped up to lead the team with 11 kills on 21 attempts, followed by nine kills on 13 attempts from middle blocker Maddie Butters.
Gabby Kepley had five kills. Myers and Sydney Cowan both had four.
It was much of the same group that helped beat Eastside Catholic in four games on Tuesday.
“Eastside Catholic was a challenge for us as a solid program, but we’re just trying to focus on the little things,” said coach Russell Monsef. “We’re executing for a pretty good level for the start of the season, but [working on] little things like our energy level, how well we’re communicating with each other, positioning on the court — and we’re just trying to get better at that.”
KingCo play isn’t scheduled to begin until Sept. 28 with a home game against Mt. Si, giving Bothell three nonconference games and the Kent Classic tournament to prepare.
The team — or the players, at least — have plans to “dominate” KingCo play.
“If the league was anything like it was last year, it would take a really good season for us to dominate, but we have lofty goals,” Monsef said. “We want to be at state at the end of the year, and KingCo’s a stepping stone for that. To have a chance, we need to win KingCo.”
Myers said the team tries to capture that mindset.
“What if this was the KingCo championship? Let’s play like it’s the KingCo championship,” she said. “Let’s play like this is the determining game for going to state. Let’s not ever let up and think, ‘Oh, they’re easy to beat.'”
