WARDEN — The Warden Cougars volleyball team (3-0) claimed a dominant 3-0 victory over the Highland Scotties Thursday evening. After another nonconference victory, the Cougars set their sights toward the start of league play. 

“It’s been a busy week for our girls because a lot of them are showing at the Othello Fair,” said Cougars head coach Katie Roylance. “I was proud of the way they were able to focus in mentally.” 

In the first set, the Cougars led 6-2 early on over Highland, but the Scotties caught up midway through the set to keep the score close. Soon after, Warden began capitalizing on offensive openings to stack up back-to-back points and claimed the first set 25-14.

Warden utilized the momentum built in the first set to make gains early in the second set. Though the Scotties continued to battle, the Cougars continued to build their lead and won again in the second set 25-12. 

Highland came into the third set with some determination as they went up by four points early in the set, but the cougars quickly closed the gap and built a major lead. Through their determination, execution and consistency, the Cougars closed out the third set 25-12 and claimed victory in three sets. 

“We played Highland just last week, and I asked them to be more disciplined and to control the controllables,” said Roylance. “It took them a little bit to warm up but they finally found their groove.” 

Senior leadership was on full display against Highland Thursday as Warden’s two seniors helped guide the pace of the game which led to a team victory. 

“It was a little rough in the beginning. We had quite a bit of a slow start,” said Cougars senior Brittney Cole. “Hannah (Roylance) and I know our team doesn’t work that way, but I feel good after tonight.” 

Cole said she and her fellow senior leader Hannah Roylance helped pick their pace back up as the game went on by utilizing their communication on the court. While this has been an aspect of the game the team has struggled with, Thursday’s game proved how important talking with each other on the court. 

“Talking is probably one of our biggest weaknesses and strengths at the same time,” said the senior. “Just talking while the ball is on the other side of the court, talking while it’s on our side, cheering, that kind of stuff really helps.” 

Thursday’s game also proved to be a test of their mental strength on the court as Cole said getting out of their own heads to pick up the pace of the game was crucial to Warden’s success. As the team’s focus shifts from nonconference matchups to league play, the senior is focused on keeping her younger teammates encouraged. 

“Making sure they’re not getting in their heads like I did as a freshman and really making sure we’re all on the same team,” she said. “It’s not six islands out there, we really need to play as one coming into league.” 

The squad might be on the young side, but the senior said she is excited to see what the team can continue to do deeper in the season. She highlighted efforts from freshman Nadia Valdez and sophomore Kenzley Clausen as being essential to the team this season. 

Coach Roylance also highlighted the serving abilities shown by Harper Cox as she made a strong run of serves in both the second and third sets to build up Warden’s lead. 

“I’m just really excited for these young girls and just keeping them on the same page and excited is really big,” said Cole. 

One of the main takeaways from Thursday was that the Cougars can utilize their energy to control the tempo of the game. With the team utilizing many younger players in the third set, this allowed for that energy to spread across the roster. 

“It was a great time to put the bench in that doesn’t get a lot of playing time and get them some experience on the floor,” said Roylance. “It was fun to watch them go in.” 

She said with their next game being the first of league competition, she wants her players to be ready for the increased speed from their opposition. The Cougars plan to continue working hard at practice leading up to their next game, and the coach is pleased with what she has been seeing from her players. 

“There’s so much potential with this team,” said Roylance. “This is going to be such a fun group.” 

The Cougars begin league play at home Tuesday against Columbia (Burbank) at 6:30 p.m. 

BOX SCORE 

HLND: 14-12-12: 0 

WRDN: 25-25-25: 3 

    Warden senior Hannah Roylance makes a call out as she prepares to hit the ball during Thursday’s game against Highland.
  

    Cougars freshman Harper Cox steps up to serve against Highland Thursday evening.
  

    Nadia Valdez, a freshman from Warden, leaps up to go for the kill against Highland during Thursday’s home matchup.
  

    Kenzley Clausen, a sophomore from the Cougars, attacks the ball from the back row Thursday evening against Highland.
  

    Warden junior Jade Hymas serves the ball in the nonconference home matchup against Highland Thursday.