TUMWATER — Not all schedules are created equal. Thus not all records in September can be viewed in the same scope.
Exhibit A: The Tumwater High School volleyball team.
When their non-league slate was unveiled and four Class 4A programs were on the docket, plus a consistent deep state tournament team in 1A and a stable 3A team, it was designed that way by head coach Kennedy Croft.
“That was one of my goals to get a challenging (non-league) schedule,” she said. “It is good for us. That’s where we want to be competing with and beating eventually. Why not now?”
Losing matches was more than on the table. A winless beginning to the 2026 campaign before Evergreen Conference play kicks into high gear?
Certainly in play.
Tumwater struggled all night in serve receive and never got the needed bounces in the third set, which allowed Graham-Kapowsin to secure a 25-14, 25-21, 25-20 sweep on Wednesday night in Tumwater.
The T-Birds enter next week’s penultimate non-league game against Kelso with an 0-5 record and just three sets won all season. It’s a stark difference from last year’s bunch that finished 20-4 and they were the only area team to claim a trophy in Yakima.
Still, Croft is far from concerned.
“There’s been so many moments of greatness and we’ve seen flashes,” she said. “The talent is there. They are still figuring out how to play with each other and how to win.”
Only Kay Kay Malroy and Lauren Montoya-Kilmer were all-league picks from a year ago on a roster that featured all-state middle Paige Henderson, libero Lalie Betschart, setter Bailey Broeker and outside hitter Tove Hugus.
Croft stated that every match has featured either a different starting lineup or new rotations. By the time Tumwater begins league play versus W.F. West in two weeks, she’s hopeful for a set lineup.
“It has been fun, I just didn’t know what to expect from these young kids,” Croft said.
Wednesday’s bout against the Eagles marked the final contest against a 4A opponent. They made it difficult on Tumwater from the service line with eight aces in the opening set. Some were short, others were long and a handful were due to a struggle in serve receive.
Those struggles continued all night long. Croft referred to it as “inconsistent.”
“We have team goals for serve receive every single game and we haven’t met them,” she added. “It is something we expect to be dialed in soon.”
Tumwater kept it manageable in the second set, down either two or three points most of the way, until G-K went up four and finished off the set. Then in the third, the T-Birds and Eagles exchanged sideouts for a bit, but the former maintained a multi-point cushion.
The breaks didn’t go Tumwater’s way.
G-K’s Brooke Bovan unleashed a low serve that caromed off the top of the net and dropped in for an ace. One rally later, Tumwater’s Abby Kummer rose up for an attack only for the Eagles to dig it out, get it over and eventually put the ball down.
That instance put G-K up by three and it never looked back to close the sweep.
“We compete really well up until the 20s and we kind of lose it a bit,” Croft said of recent trends. “Look less like deer in the headlights and more in control. We’ll get there.”
A significant bright spot for Tumwater was senior Sydney Wilson, who posted at least five kills and she had a tipped block as well. Corinne Sadlemyer, Cosie Iuliano and Kummer all registered at least one kill in the first set.
Freshman Audrey Overbay is its new setter and dished out double digit assists on the night.
“She’s done her role and brought the energy,” Croft said of Wilson. “It has been awesome to see her stepping into that leadership role.”
On Overbay: “We expect a lot out of her and she’s been great; she is nowhere near her ceiling.”
As a former T-Bird herself, Croft has set the expectation to compete yearly for EvCo titles, District 4 titles and hardware at state. Regardless of how much varsity experience this new batch of Tumwater players have.
“We have big goals,” Croft said. “I hope they can see the growth and it is because we are getting pushed to play high-level volleyball.”
