And the scary thing for the opposition is coach Tana Croft says her Thunderbirds have room for improvement.
Tumwater dominated its midseason showdown with crosstown rival Black Hills, dominating the visiting Wolves with a 3-0 (25-9, 25-21, 25-12) victory Tuesday in a battle of EvCo unbeatens.
“That’s the best we’ve played defensively,” Croft said. “Our blocking and our defense has really been a focus point for us the last two weeks. It was the difference tonight.”
Junior Hanna Hanson led the T-Birds with four blocks, while seniors Gabby Johnson and Erica Waldner each tallied three blocks, helping Tumwater remain perfect at 6-0 in conference play.
Hanson also paced the team with nine kills and nine digs with Johnson second on the team with eight kills.
Tumwater (7-1 overall) hit .268 (34-for-82, 12 errors), with Hanson attacking at a .333 clip (8-for-18, two errors).
Karlee Sampson went 16-for-16 serving and Johnson went 11-for-11 with four aces as the T-Birds served at 97.1 percent.
Black Hills (6-2, 5-1) jumped out to a 2-0 lead against the T-Birds to start the match. Two kills by Jaycee Watson and an ace from Johnson capped a 6-0 run by Tumwater, pushing the T-Birds ahead by six at 10-4.
A pair of attack errors and two kills by Hanson increased Tumwater’s lead to 21-7 before Waldner and Watson closed out the set by teaming up for the block, giving the T-Birds the first set, 25-9.
Tumwater took a 4-1 lead to start the second set, but Black Hills continued to chip away at the deficit, getting an ace from Hope Mortensen to pull within a point at 8-7.
A kill from Waldner gave Tumwater some breathing room at 20-18, before two kills from Black Hills junior Kendra Henry trimmed the T-Birds’ lead to 21-20.
A Johnson kill had Tumwater at set point position, 24-21, and another Johnson kill secured Set 2.
Johnson took over the third set, registering four kills as Tumwater jumped out to a 16-2 lead before closing things out.
“I didn’t think I played very well in the first two sets,” Johnson said. “So I wanted to come out strong in the third. We got off to a quick start and just built on it. This team is all about having fun, but when it’s time to play we focus.”
The impressive performance against Black Hills, which had won six consecutive matches, inspires the question of whether this year’s T-Birds are on par with the 2008 squad that captured the Class 2A state championship.
“This team is a more well-rounded team than 2008,” Croft said. “We have much more depth. I’ve told the girls that if they continue to improve they can be better than that team.”
The two teams will meet against at Black Hills on Oct. 27.
GIRLS SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS
At Olympia 3, Bellarmine 1: Olympia climbed up the standings with a home win over longtime rival Bellarmine. The Bears outshot the Lions, 12-8, as keeper Olivia Brock kept Bellarmine scoreless through 70 minutes.
At Timberline 1, Yelm 0: Sophomore forward Libby Kamrowski tallied the only goal in the 33rd minute, and goalkeeper Hailey Holder preserved the shutout with seven saves in the Blazers’ 1-0 victory over the Tornados in Narrows League 3A play at South Sound Stadium.
