LA CONNER — The bandage on coach Suzanne Marble’s hand is a testament to the fact that Julie Hulbert and the La Conner volleyball team are already in midseason form.
Tuesday night the Mount Vernon Bulldogs got their taste, as the Braves, the state’s top-ranked Class 2B team, blistered the Class 3A Bulldogs 25-15, 25-13, 25-16 in the season opener for both teams.
“We always like to play any team, but Mount Vernon is always fun,” Hulbert said. “Their coaches coach our club team and we know a lot of their girls.”
The Mount Vernon coaches might be glad they aren’t working with the Braves anymore — a Hulbert spike in practice broke a finger on her high school coach’s left hand.
“I apologized profusely,” Hulbert said, adding she wasn’t worried about being benched or having to run laps as punishment.
Marble agreed. “I’m not going to sit her down for hitting too hard,” she said.
Instead, Hulbert led a diverse Braves attack with nine kills and five aces — with all five aces coming in the third game. Kasey Swanson added seven kills and Lauren McClung six for the Braves.
Candice Pedroza finished with 25 assists. Abi Hedlund had three kills, two aces and was everywhere defensively for La Conner.
“We made some errors serving, but we did a good job getting rid of first-match jitters,” Marble said. “Abi Hedlund play well. She was incredible on defense.”
The Braves never trailed in the first two games, building an early six-point edge in the first one and running off six straight points to go up 15-7 in the second.
The third game was by far the closest, as Mount Vernon led on several occasions and took a 15-14 edge before Hulbert went back to serve. Seven straight points later, including four on aces, the game was effectively over.
“Starting off with La Conner is a tough task. They’re a good, cohesive unit,” Bulldogs coach Keith Tacker said. “I thought for our first time out it was promising. We’ve got some new games and we’re trying to work on some things. I was pleased with the younger girls.”
Jenny Taylor had six kills to lead Mount Vernon, with Derrick Walser adding four and a block.
Mount Vernon’s Kristin Hill finished with 11 assists, and sophomore Kailyn Schmidt dished out six assists in the third game.
“Mount Vernon looked good to me,” Marble said. “Keith’s getting them ready to play. It was a good battle, a lot of fun.”
Eric Francis can be reached at 360-416-2131 or by e-mail at

