Auburn Riverside volleyball falls in straight sets to Kennedy

It has been a rocky start for the 2024 Auburn Riverside Ravens volleyball team — a team that went to the state tournament last year and has gone to the season ending tournament 10 out of the last 11 years, including nine in a row.

So far this season, the Ravens are off to a 4-3 start, with some tough losses coming against Puyallup, Tahoma and Mount Rainier. But recently, the Ravens had won two straight games before its matchup with NPSL leading Kennedy Catholic.

The Ravens’ most recent match was a five-set win against Kentridge, Auburn Riverside’s second five set win of the season. But the Lancers are a different breed and have been the past few seasons.

Auburn Riverside fell to the Lancers in straight sets at home on Oct. 2. After having such a big win the game before, over Kentridge in five sets, the Ravens just were a bit flat against Kennedy.

“When you play the number one team in the league, you’re either in it or you’re stressed out. Coming off the win was good, but it comes down to are we going to play to our full potential against the best teams,” Head Coach Mike Tienda said.

But the Lancers are a worthy foe — since 2021, the Lancers have not lost a league match. This season, Kennedy has lost one set. That is a set score of 24-1 for their 8-0 record.

“Moving into this league, where it is a harder game every time, is something that the girls are learning this year. We were used to being the top, but we are not. The fight is different, the mentality is different,” Tienda said.

Tienda has a ton of respect for the Kennedy program that has become one of the toughest teams to play on the west side of the state.

“First of all their coach is amazing. She runs a great program…She’s a great coach and a great leader,” said Tienda.

In the first set, the Ravens got out to an extremely slow start. The Lancers, who were already on fire, sprinted out a 7-0 lead and never let Auburn Riverside get back into the first game. Early on, the Ravens trailed 11-1 and dropped the first set 25-9.

Following the 16-point loss, the Ravens found a bit of resolve in the second set. Tienda’s squad was down four points early, then evened out the game at 7-7 and even took a one-point lead at 9-8.

The two sides traded runs and with the Lancers up 20-15, the Ravens scored four straight points to bring the set within one point late. Kennedy Catholic took a timeout, then out of the timeout, the Lancers took the first two points and stole the momentum right out from under the Ravens’ nose.

“When you are able to come back after losing with over a 10-point deficit, it shows the potential that we actually have. If we keep that mentality we had in the second set in every set we play, it would be a different team,” Tienda said.

There is a different energy with this Raven group. There isn’t the varsity playing experience that most teams before them have had. Going from the hunted to the hunter takes a mentality switch that the Ravens are still searching for.

Auburn Riverside did reel the Lancers closer once more at 23-21, but Kennedy closed out set two and crushed the hopes of the Ravens, 25-22.

Set three was more like set one where Kennedy just took it to Auburn Riverside. The game was tied at 6-6, but the Ravens just fell off with pace. Kennedy would lead 17-9 and the match was as good as gone.

Kennedy won the third and final set 25-14 and handed the Ravens their fourth loss of the season.

The Ravens take on a 2023 state tournament team again in Tahoma. Tienda hopes to see improvements next time out: “We have to fully commit. I think what we learned in that second set, if we hit the floor, good things can happen. We can get the ball over and momentum can shift. It is just committing.”