11/8/2025

(Seattle, WA) During a long day of Volleyball, the top four seeds in the Metro League tournament battled for the trophy at Chief Sealth High School. Four-seed Seattle Prep prevailed over one-seed Bishop Blanchet in the first semi-final match after five sets. Three-seed Roosevelt held off a late surge from two-seed Lakeside to win the second semi-final in four. These results would set up a third-place matchup between Blanchet and Lakeside, with Seattle Prep and Roosevelt facing off for the title.

Bishop Blanchet 3 – Lakeside 1, 24-26, 25-16, 25-14, 25-23

Set 1

The top two seeds had to settle for a third-place battle. Bishop Blanchet looked for their fifth straight 3rd place finish in the Metro League. Lakeside had a chance to have its highest Metro-Tourney placement since winning it in 2022.  both teams came in ranked top-15 in 3A by RPI, the Bears at #9 and Lions at #13.

Set 1

Blanchet started well in set one, getting blocks and kills from the start, Senior middle blocker Lucy Slavik. Lakeside would get back in it with a trio of aces, taking a 9-6 lead. Blanchet would respond with a run of their own to make it 14-11 Bears.

The lead would stretch to 16-12 after Slavik dunked an overpass at the net, but a four-point Lakeside run tied it at 16. The squads would trade points until 20-20. Two points and an Audrey Wierenga ace gave Blanchet a 23-20 lead. The Lions would put together three straight to tie it at 23. Blanchet would have one set point, but Lakeside Senior middle Maria Waldorf picked up a solo block to tie it at 24. Lakeside would win the next two points, clinching set one with an Amai Popovic spike.

Set 2

Early in the second set, the teams exchanged points, with the largest lead being 8-6 for Lakeside on the back of three kills from Maria Waldorf. The Bears would tie it back up at 11-11 before a six-point run gave them a 17-11 lead.

Lakeside would show some fight to stick around in the set, but the Bears dominated at the net through elite play from Slavik, closing out the set 25-16.

Set 3

Early miscues from the Lions and net defense at the net from Blanchet juniors Erin Hofmeister and Leigh Betzold made it 6-2 Bears. Blanchet would keep the pressure on and push it to 9-4, and then 11-5, with the one-seeds hitters looking unblocked at times.

A combined block from Hofmiester and Slavik would make it 14-6, and dominant net play would continue as Bishop Blanchet would get up to 19-10. Lakeside would heavily rotate its squad, emptying the bench to see out a third set, which would end 25-14 in favor of Blanchet.

Set 4

Blanchet would once again start well in set four, with two kills and a block from Slavik making it 3-0, but Lakeside would fire back and take their first lead of the set at 7- after a prolonged rally led by clutch digs by Lions senior Dionnah Hernandez.

Neither squad would take more than a two-point lead all the way until an ace from Blanchet sophomore Mikaela Wierenga would give the Bears a 21-18 lead. Blanchet would look to close out at 22-19, but a late rally powered by a pair of kills from Lakeside sophomore Cosette Lysne would tie it at 23-23.

This time, though, it would be Blanchet to prevail late in a close set, as they got the last two points, capped by an ace from junior Olivia Tews to seal it 25-23 and win in four sets.

The Sumner Holiday Inn MVP of the match was Lucy Slavik, who was dominant at the net all match, racking up kills and blocks for the Bears.

Blanchet takes third place in the Metro League for the fifth straight year as they improve to 17-3, and Lakeside takes fourth and heads to districts at 15-6, looking to make state for the first time since 2019.

Highlights

Amai Popovic closes out set one for Lakeside

Blanchet’s final two points of the match

Seattle Prep 3 – Roosevelt 1, 16-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-22

The last time Seattle Prep and Roosevelt played in the Metro League Final was back in 2018, with the Roughriders taking the title. Since then, Roosevelt is still in search of another league title, while the Panthers, on the other hand, have won the last two Metro League titles, and after upsetting Bishop Blanchet in the semis, were in the final for the fifth straight year with a chance to three-peat.

Set 1

Early mistakes from Seattle Prep, and good service from Roosevelt, including a pair of aces from senior Libero Olive Lassen, gave the Roughriders an 8-2 lead. Coming out of a Seattle Prep timeout, the teams would exchange points before a Roosevelt run, powered by standout freshman middle Kate Fagly, would bring it to 12-5.

The teams would go back and forth in the following points, but the lead would never get smaller than four for RHS, and the green and gold would take set one easily at 25-16

Set 2

Attacks from Roosevelt junior outside hitter Serina Bergstrom were the story of early set two, as the Roughriders jumped out to an 8-2 lead. The two-time defending league champ Panthers would not go down easy, though, picking up a seven-point run to lead six six-point run to bring it within one at 9-8.

Roosevelt looked to have weathered the storm and extended the lead back to 16-10 on a Siena Carlton kill as Prep continued to look a bit out of sorts on defense. But the Panthers once again got themselves back into it, cutting the lead to 19-17. Senior outside hitter Leilua Kitiona established herself as the heart of the Panther attack in set two, providing several kills, including a spike to tie it at 19-19.

A 10-2 run from the Panthers finished with a 22-20 lead, but Roosevelt would tie it at 22-22. Prep took a 24-22 lead, and the Roughriders were able to fend off one set point but not a second as a service error ended set two, with Seattle Prep taking it in come-from-behind fashion, 25-23.

Set 3

Prep rode the momentum of set two into the third, taking an early 6-2 lead as juniors Maddy Conner and Greta Gilbert combined for a block. Roosevelt would return with a four-point run to tie it at 6-6, and then lead at 12-7 after a pair of aces from junior Sailor Allen, prompting a Prep timeout.

The Panthers would come out of the timeout slow, with the lead stretching to 15-11, but a quick Prep run made it 15-14 and forcing RHS to take a timeout of their own. The rest of the set would be neck-and-neck, with ties at every score between 16-16 and 19-19. A smash kill from Prep senior middle Audrey Sice would give the Panthers a 23-21 lead, and a block from junior Maddy Conner, followed by a Kitiona kill, would ice the set at 25-21.

Set 4

An even start to set four would be broken by a Prep run powered by three consecutive kills for Maddy Conner to make it 7-4.

Audrey Sice blocked an attempted RHS dump to make it 10-5 and force an RHS timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Prep would keep on the pressure, bringing the lead to 12-5. RHS was able to hang around, but had trouble cutting the lead to less than five. Seattle Prep would continue to feed Maddy Conner, whose kills would help bring the lead up to 18-10.

RHS would make it interesting, closing the gap with a pair of four-point runs to make it 22-20 Prep.

But the Panthers would win three of the last four points, winning set four 25-22, and clinching a third-straight Metro-League title. Seattle Prep improves to 15-6, and the second-place Roughriders drop to 15-5

The Sumner Holiday Inn MVP would be Maddy Conner, whose kills and play at the net were key to the turnaround for Prep, starting in the middle point of set two.

Highlights

Roosevelt closes out set one

Maddy Conner’s kill clinches the title