LACEY — Nov. 4 has not been a kind date for the Northwest Christian volleyball team in the past two years.
On that date in 2025, the Wolverines, winners of the Sea-Tac League and six games in a row, fell in the Class 1B District 1/2/3 Tournament quarterfinals in four sets on their home floor.
On that date in 2026, the Wolverines, winners of the Sea-Tac League and seven games in a row, were swept in the Class 1B District 1/2/3 Tournament quarterfinals on their home floor.
The opponent in both losses?
Providence Classical Christian.
Halloween may be four days past, but the reign of Northwest Christian’s boogie man lingers.
The Wolverines fell flat against the Highlanders 25-20, 25-17, 25-13, on Wednesday, Nov. 4 to drop into the consolation bracket of the tri-district tournament.
“I think we were nervous because it’s Providence and we have this history with them. Coming onto the court, we were really tight,” Northwest Christian co-head coach Sarah Barnard said. “It really showed on our serve receive.”
Northwest Christian definitely had the jitters in the first set as Providence built an early 7-0 lead. The Highlanders pounded three aces in their hot start to force a Wolverines timeout. Another 5-0 run extended the margin to 12-2.
The Wolverines slowly climbed back into contention late in the first set behind Addy Hentges, Tenlee Nonn and Ashlynn Hutchings. Their offense and strong serves sliced the deficit down to three. But Providence closed out the first set with three of the final four points to win 25-20.
“Once we got a couple points, it was a completely different vibe,” Barnard said.
Northwest Christian and Providence went back and forth in set two, and a powerful block by Nonn tied the set at 7-7 before her kill gave the Wolverines their first lead of the night. Attack errors and mishaps in serve receive continued to cost Northwest Christian; the Highlanders spiked five aces in the second set. The Wolverines couldn’t find a spark as the deficit swelled and lost 25-17.
“Our team, for some reason, just wasn’t connecting as well as we normally do. We weren’t moving around the court. There was a lot of second-guessing going on,” Barnard said.
Set three quickly got away from Northwest Christian due to the effective blocking from the Highlanders’ front row and more attack errors from the Wolverines. Providence finished the match with 13 aces compared to Northwest Christian’s seven.
For the second year in a row, the Wolverines must take the long road to get to the state tournament. Northwest Christian (17-5) will now face Lopez Island in a winner-to-state elimination game on Saturday, Nov. 7 at Mount Vernon Christian.
Adversity is a factor that Barnard, co-head coach Jack Lizee and the Northwest Christian coaching staff has focused on with their players in practice all season. The Wolverines are frequently tasked with overcoming large deficits in practice scenarios, and Barnard is confident that that training will pay off this weekend.
“The further we got into the season, we knew it was going to be harder and harder. We’re going to play tougher teams,” she said. “We’re trying to look at adversity as not a scary thing and losses as not a scary thing. This makes us better as a team as a whole. We showed more grit tonight than we had in the beginning of the season, so I’m happy with that.”
Northwest Christian was led by a double-double of 12 kills and 18 digs from Hentges, who stepped into the back row due to libero Jersey Buniag being limited due to illness.
Barnard praised Hentges for her versatility and willingness to play all over the court.
“She did great. But anytime the lineup changes like that, it affects everyone on the team,” she said. “I’m really impressed with Addy because she’s been so steady for us all season. She had a lot on her shoulders tonight, and it was 100% effort. It always is.”
Nonn added seven kills and four digs, and Hutchings recorded five kills and 21 digs. Jess Collins dished out 26 assists.
