With the sounds of the rowdy crowd bouncing around the Central Kitsap High School gymnasium, the Central KitsapVolleyball team took on a new competitor for the first time. The Cedar Park Christian Eagles were a new team for Central Kitsap  to face, meaning a new challenge for players like Sydney Lingenbrink.

“They were out of conference, so we’ve never played them before,” Lingenbrink said. “But they were a good team, and we were excited about it. We’ve never seen any film on them, so we were going into this blind.”

The face-off  started on a loss, with Cedar Park hitting back to back point-scoring serves, called an ace. The cougars quickly caught up, and spent the rest of the game battling for the lead. The set ended with a score of 25-22 with Central Kitsap working together as a team.

“I like that it’s a team sport, you can’t play it by yourself,” Lingenbrink said.

The second set started just as close as the first one with the score tied several times. There were many long volleys where the point could have gone either way. In the end, the Cougars won the set.

“[I was] definitely a little nervous,” Lingenbrink said. “It was good to have competition though. It’s always good to have to compete.”

As varsity Volleyball is played best out of five, and Central Kitsap had won two sets, the third set was tense. The lead bounced back and forth, both teams staying extremely close. Eventually, the score hit 24-22 with CKHS in the lead. The set was won by CKHS Junior Ashlyn Manchester, with an ace securing the victory for Central Kitsap.

“Well done,” Assistant Varsity coach Rebecca Arthur said. “Because Cedar Park Christian usually goes to the state tournament for their classification.”

This was the Cougars tenth win of the season, contrasting their two losses. They are continuing to move through the season with the next home game,

with the next matchup being a home game on Oct 21.

“We’re moving forward aggressively with a good attitude,” Arthur said.