A young and ambitious Sumner High volleyball squad came together in the recent “Climb The Peak” volleyball tournament at Glacier Peak High, then parlayed that momentum to sweep a pair of South Puget Sound League 2A matches last week and get on the right track with the ensuing second season nearly at hand.

As a positive consequence of wearing down Steilacoom on the road 17-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-20 and then two days later hosting and eventually edging Eatonville 25-20, 16-25, 16-25, 25-14 and 15-13, the Spartans pushed their league mark to 8-6, which is likely sufficient to take fourth in the SPSL 2A and play in Saturday’s 16-team subdistrict tourney at Washington High.

The week began with the Sumner visiting Steilacoom and prevailing in four games with great performances coming from Kendall Jamison, Hayley Steinman and senior setter Sara Heuett.

“After that tournament in Snohomish we really began to jell as a squad and have since played some of our most solid volleyball of the season,” Sumner coach Mike Fitzpatrick said.

After tightening its shoe laces against Steilacoom, Sumner hosted Eatonville’s Oct. 19. Action see-sawed back and forth as the match sifted down to an all-important sudden death set where the Sparts trimmed the Cruisers 15-13.

Karissa Smith collected nine kills against Steilacoom early last week in the road tilt and then added another dozen kills in the cozy confines of The Fortress against Eatonville, to record 21 kills for a week’s toil, in spearheading the Sparts to their tandem of crucial SPSL 2A triumphs last week.

Sumner played its final league encounter of the regular season at White River Monday and will spend the rest of this week preparing strategies for the Saturday’s subdistrict engagements.