By CHRIS CHANCELLOR
cchancellor@auburn-reporter.com
Calley Heilborn has experienced great success during her time in Auburn Riverside’s volleyball program, but that does not prevent her from getting excited.
Especially when it comes to beating a rival.
Heilborn and the Ravens accomplished that again Monday with a 25-14, 25-13, 31-29 win against Auburn Mountainview to clinch the North Puget Sound League 4A Olympic Division volleyball championship in the regular-season finale.
“Going crazy at every point,” said Heilborn, who had a match-high 23 kills. “It just comes out of me. I can’t control it.”
Auburn Riverside (13-1 overall, 7-0 Olympic) again looked like the team that won the last two South Puget Sound League 3A titles and placed first and third in that classification, respectively. Just do not suggest to Heilborn that it was effortless.
“It definitely was not easy,” she said. “This definitely was the most challenging game we’ve had.”
The Ravens made it look that way until the third game when the Lions took a 7-1 lead. Auburn Riverside coach Chris Leverenz called a timeout at that point, and told her team that most of their struggles were self-inflicted.
“I thought they got a little bit comfortable,” she said.
Auburn Mountainview (10-4, 6-1) led by as many as eight points before the comeback began. Auburn Riverside took its first lead, 16-5, on a block. It was the first of five lead changes. The game was tied, 29-all, before the Ravens closed it out when Lions’ standout outside hitter Kiley Lewis followed a Heilborn kill by hitting the ball out of bounds.
“That was awesome,” Leverenz said. “That was one of the best matches I think I’ve been in. Just that feeling – that hype – and everyone is just battling for that two points.”
Outside of the slow start in the third game, Leverenz praised her team’s work, particularly on the defensive end. In addition to Heilborn, she also was excited about setter Ciera Zimmerman’s all-around performance. Zimmerman finished with seven kills.
“Ciera Zimmerman led my offense,” Leverenz said. “She’s super competitive. She blocked well.”
Lewis, a Boise State commit who had 16 kills, and a pair of digs and blocks, felt her team was stressed entering the match, but not because the division title was at stake.
“I think we just really expect a lot from ourselves individually, so sometimes it can get into our head mentally,” she said.
Auburn Mountainview coach Telia McDonald said the third game showed what the Lions are capable of achieving.
“We have to always play at that level,” she said. “We have the potential to always play at that level and that’s what I want to see.”
The Lions, who host the NPSL 4A Tournament, might have another opportunity to display that against Auburn Riverside. If both teams win their first playoff match, they will meet at 1 p.m. Saturday to determine the league’s No. 1 seed into the Nov. 4-5 West Central District Tournament at Kentwood.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Lewis said. “We want to get revenge.”
Elsewhere
• Auburn 3, at Enumclaw 0: Maysen Tinney and Mercedies TooToo each had nine kills to lead the Trojans to a 25-19, 25-14, 25-14 win Monday against the Hornets in a Olympic Division match.
Auburn (9-5, 5-2) secured third place in the Olympic with the victory and will open the league tournament at 11 a.m. Saturday against Kentridge, which finished fourth in the Cascade Division. Depending on the outcome of their two playoff matches, the Trojans will earn the league’s fifth-eighth seeds entering the district tournament.
