A look at who's leading in fall sports around West Sound

As much as high school football dominates the headlines in local sports this time of year, there's more to the prep landscape than what's happening on the gridiron.

Here's four things to know to quickly catch up girls soccer, volleyball, girls swim/dive and cross country teams in action this fall.

North Kitsap's showdown win sets tone for repeat title

If Tuesday's home match against Bainbridge is any indication, North Kitsap appears ready to defend its Olympic League volleyball title. The Vikings claimed a four-set win: 25-16, 20-25, 25-13, 25-16.

North Kitsap head coach Kaelea Makaiwi, whose team improved to 2-1 overall, said she's prepared to use different lineups and players in different roles this fall, especially early in the season.

"This is about us learning about us," she said.

Top players for the Vikings include last year's Kitsap Sun volleyball co-player of the year, senior Sophia Baugh, seniors Maddie Pryde and Lily Pruden, and freshman Iliana Brockett.

North Kitsap (19-7 in 2021) and Bainbridge (18-6) finished one-two in the Olympic League standings last fall and both teams qualified for state. The Vikings went 1-2 in the 2A tournament, while the Spartans went 1-2 in the 3A tournament.

Bainbridge is 0-2 under new head coach Andy Stephens, who replaced Jen Roman in the offseason. The Spartans graduated several impact players in June, including Allie Wildsmith, who earned Olympic League MVP honors and shared Kitsap Sun volleyball player of the year honors with Baugh. The Spartans' two seniors this fall are Lily Taylor and Susanna D'Eramo.

Kingston finished fourth in the Olympic League last season with a 10-12 record, followed by Olympic (8-14) in fifth, Bremerton (2-13) in seventh and North Mason (1-18) in eighth.

Chris Eaton, who replaced Mikaela Strutz as head coach at Kingston, said seniors Grace Mosco and Sophia Call are returning varsity starters who should lead the team. Mosco played libero last fall and has emerged as an efficient attacker, while Call returns as setter.

Olympic head coach Keith Peden said the Trojans graduated much of their offensive firepower, but will look to replace that scoring potential by repositioning certain players and getting new additions up to speed. Top players include seniors Abby Gesell, Serene Gonzalez, Ashley Barber, Cassidy Cortez and Erika Cartharius.

In the South Sound Conference 3A, Central Kitsap finished 15-8 last season. Cougars head coach Katie Pasi returns a young team led by junior Kawehi Sarono and senior Allie Lewis.

South Kitsap head coach CJ Scott is confident in his team's offensive abilities after the Wolves finished 7-15 in 2021 as members of the South Puget Sound League 4A. Top players include seniors Anna Harvey, Melia Fundanet, Jayden Strutz and Abby Gilder.

Klahowya finished 7-12 in the Nisqually League 1A last fall, while Crosspoint (13-7) qualified for the Class B state tournament.

Klahowya leads girls soccer contenders

After finishing with a 19-1-1 record and earning a third-place trophy at the Class 1A state girls soccer tournament last fall, Klahowya fully expects to be a title contender again.

The defending Nisqually League champion Eagles only lost two starters to graduation and return their three top scorers — senior Tori Peters, last year's Kitsap Sun girls soccer player of the year, junior Ali Divano and sophomore Amira Lyons — who combined for 60 goals last season.

"The girls are hungry to finish what they got a taste of last season," said Klahowya co-head coach Troy Oelschlager, whose team improved to 2-0 Tuesday with a win over Cascade Christian.

Central Kitsap finished 16-6-1 last season, placing second in the South Sound Conference 3A. The Cougars fell one win short of qualifying for state after placing third in 3A in 2019 (there was no state tournament in 2020 due to COVID-19).

Top returners this fall are senior midfielder Sydney Paschal and senior defender Savannah Reece, junior goalkeeper Rachael Remnet and sophomore forward Maya Prouse.

"This year we have a great mix between upper and lowerclassmen," said Central Kitsap head coach Christina Avery, whose team improved to 2-1 after beating North Thurston on Tuesday. "We have brought on five freshmen and are hoping to continue our tenacity on the field."

Bainbridge (13-6 in 2021) edged Port Angeles to claim the Olympic League title last season as the league's lone 3A team, but failed to qualify for state. The Spartans improved to 1-2 on Tuesday after edging North Kitsap 3-2 in a shootout.

North Kitsap (13-7 in 2021) has only missed qualifying for state tournament play once since 2010. Travis Rider replaced Greg St. Peter as head coach in the offseason. The shootout loss to Bainbridge was North Kitsap's season-opener.

Bremerton (4-12 in 2021) won its season-opener Tuesday with a 3-2 victory over Olympic (6-15 in 2021). It was the Trojans' first defeat after beginning the season with a pair of wins. Olympic head coach Steve Haggerty said senior Michaella Bell, an all-league field player last season, will share goalkeeper duties with Kilee Turner this fall.

North Mason (7-11 in 2021) is 0-2 after opening the season with shutout losses against Shelton and Sequim.

South Kitsap (2-12-1 in 2021) dropped its season-opener 4-2 loss against Olympia last week in South Puget Sound League 4A play.

Bainbridge pool champions return

Things couldn't have gone much better in the pool last fall at Bainbridge High School.

The Spartans' girls swim/dive team and boys water polo team both won state titles in convincing fashion. At the 3A state meet in Federal Way, Bainbridge's swim/dive team won four events and placed in the top-eight 19 times across all events, totaling 379 points to claim its seventh swim/dive championship in program history and first since 2000. Bainbridge's boys water polo team finished 14-1 and topped Newport 15-7 in the state championship match at Curtis High School.

Top returners for the girls swim/dive team are senior Emma Solseng, juniors Kathryn Houseman, Uma Pal, Iris Lin, and sophomores Sammy Segerson, Sophie Segerson, Piper Majors, Sara Kriegh and Maya Geddes.

The Spartans' lineup took a hit with the loss of sophomores Tierney Lenahan and Alexa McDevitt, who both moved out of the area. Lenahan took first in the 100 freestyle and second in the 100 backstroke at state, while McDevitt placed third in the 500 freestyle. Both competed on the Spartans' state-winning 200 medley relay team, which set an all-classification state record, and the state-winning 400 freestyle relay team.

In water polo, Bainbridge returns seniors Syrus Hart, Cash Brooks and JP Tinney, juniors Michael Bannister, Finn Miller and Micah Webber, and sophomore RJ Rossart. Bannister earned the state's goalie most valuable player award last season as a sophomore.

"Last year was our first time winning state since 1996, so this is our first year in a few decades where we are not the underdog, which adds a fun component to our training and game preparations," Bainbridge coach Kristin Gellert said.

The Spartans won their home opener Tuesday, defeating Curtis 14-7.

While Olympic's pool is back up and running after experiencing closures during the 2021-22 school year, South Kitsap's pool remains closed as the school prepares for a complete rebuild. Wolves athletic director Lindsey Foster said swimmers are practicing at Olympic High School and divers are practicing at Peninsula High School this season, while South Kitsap's water polo team is using the pool at Gig Harbor High School.

Central Kitsap girls cross country ranked third

In the first state cross country poll of the year, Central Kitsap's girls ranked third in Class 3A. That came as a surprise to Cougars head coach Jeremy Duplissey, considering the team graduated three athletes off last year's state runner-up team.

"I didn't expect us to get noticed," Duplissey said.

Central Kitsap has the depth to remain contenders and is led by returning junior Camryn Bishoff and sophomore Taylor Palmer, along with newcomers Clare Herring, a sophomore, and freshman Audra Palmer.

"We have four girls up front who could each finishing in the top 10 at state, or even higher," Duplissey said.

Rounding out the top seven are juniors Eva Huff and Sally Corder and senior Catherine Vlach.

On the boys' side, Duplissey expects junior Blake Reynolds to contend for an individual title with junior Jackson Moyer, sophomore Michael Vlach and freshman David McClain likely rounding out the top four. Junior Aiden Hermida and sophomore Gavin Brown are two other names to watch.

Overall, Duplissey said his team experienced its best summer training performance in five years and he's hoping it pays off in a big way two months from now.

"I wouldn’t be surprised and actually expect to come home from Pasco with two state trophies in November," he said.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Update on soccer, cross county, volleyball, swimming in West Sound