MOUNT VERNON — Kinsey Davis is playing volleyball on an entirely different level, both figuratively and literally.
Blasting kill after kill over, around and through the Mount Vernon defense Tuesday, Davis led Burlington-Edison to a four-game Northwest Conference victory over the Bulldogs.
Davis, a 5-foot-10 senior with a 33-inch vertical leap, finished with 28 kills and a pair of blocks.
“She has been really fun to watch,” Tigers coach Tawnya Brewer said. “She’s so dynamic and quick.”
When she wasn’t hitting over the Bulldog block, she was placing the kill accurately from sideline to sideline, finding whatever spots were available.
“You try to build a defense around stopping (her),” Mount Vernon coach Debbie Guildner said. “It’s hard anticipating that quickness. She does a good job of putting the ball exactly where she wants to.”
Davis wasn’t the only one the Tigers sent — Rachel Tingley finished with 11 kills and several other Tigers also finished off points, but Davis, in her third year as a starter, has clearly emerged has her team’s top option.
“That’s something coach talked to me about,” Davis said. “We haven’t really had one go-to player, at least since I’ve been here. It was hard to get used to at first, but we’re doing well.”
Freshman setter Katlyn Mataya dished out 39 assists.
Burlington-Edison (4-0 conference, 5-0 overall) cruised in the first and third games, winning 25-15 and 25-13, respectively.
The second and fourth proved much more competitive. Mount Vernon lost an early five-point lead in the second game, then rallied from 21-14 down take a 24-23 lead. Several of the final points turned into marathons before the Bulldogs finally closed out the game 27-25.
Mount Vernon (3-1, 3-2) also took an early lead in the fourth, pulling ahead 8-4 before the Tigers once again rallied. By the latter stages of the game, the Tigers led by 2-4 points and closed out the 25-21 victory.
“I thought they did really well overall,” Brewer said. “We’ve got a lot of options. We’re able to put in a pretty quick attack. I like that they came back strong in the third game. We played with more urgency in the last two games.”
Jenny Taylor led Mount Vernon with 15 kills. Lauren Barnet added 11 kills, including four during the final stretch of the second game. Megan Stransky had 32 assists for the Bulldogs.
“I wish we had played as well as we did last Thursday,” Guildner said, referring to her team’s victory over Anacortes. “Burlington did a great job of defense. Even when we were hitting well, they got a lot up.”
Eric Francis can be reached at 360-416-2131 or by e-mail at
