LACEY — This week’s slate of games has been circled on the Timberline volleyball team’s calendar since the 2026 season began.
Not only did the Blazers square off with two premier 3A opponents in Prairie and Central Kitsap, but they had an opportunity to get revenge on two of the few teams that defeated them a season ago.
Revenge on Prairie? Check. Timberline beat the Falcons in four sets on the road on Tuesday night after losing to them in four last season.
Revenge on Central Kitsap? Check, but write it in Sharpie.
Timberline, which lost to Central Kitsap in the District 3 3A quarterfinals last November, blew past the Cougars at home in a sweep Thursday night.
Say what you will about RPI rankings and their relevance in mid-September, but the currently top-ranked Blazers proved that they’re as strong and well-rounded a team as the 3A classification has to offer.
“When you play tough teams, you’re prepared to play another tough team. I think that honestly was the benefit that we had over CK tonight,” Timberline fifth-year head coach Matt Monnastes said. “We’ve had early challenges, and Prairie prepared us for a CK showdown. To be able to beat CK in three sets when they’ve got a lot of great college commits and are statistically bigger and stronger than us, it shows that the Prairie preparation was perfect for this game.”
The Blazers are off to their second 4-0 start in the past two seasons, but this 4-0 start is indicative of a senior core that is all in on its goal of bringing a state title to Timberline.
Three of those seniors — Lilly Grant, Kinley Smith and Leia Dela Cruz — were crucial in Timberline’s dominant sweep of Central Kitsap.
Grant piled up a whopping eight blocks from her middle spot, along with 11 kills, several of which were overpass kills that made the Cougars pay for their poor passing. Smith tallied a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs, while Dela Cruz dished 20 assists with six digs, two aces and a block.
Grant was unstoppable in the front row from the opening serve. She got at least a fingertip on nearly every Cougars attack whether she was right at the net or even a foot beyond, using her length to frustrate the Central Kitsap offense.
“I had a good court vision of where everyone was hitting and I knew some of the players on the other side and some of their habits of where they were hitting and tipping the ball,” Grant said.
Timberline had to come from behind early in the first set against Central Kitsap, which led 20-16 before the Blazers tallied a 7-0 run to take a 22-20 advantage. The Blazers finished off the Cougars 25-22.
Set two was all Timberline. The Blazers surrendered the first point and then never trailed again, running away with a 25-14 victory. Grant grew even stronger in set two; at one point, she was responsible for four points in a six-point span, all via blocks at the net.
Central Kitsap found a spark early in the third set, jumping out to a 15-10 lead. But Timberline senior Miya Jackson, Smith and Grant helped the Blazers chip away, retake the lead and eventually hold off a late Cougars push to win 25-23.
The offense was smooth throughout most of the night, but Timberline’s defense was the game-changer, setting up Dela Cruz to make clean passes to the Blazers’ potent attackers.
“The mentality is ‘no balls drop.’ We were talking really well. We were really loud,” Smith said of the defense. “Lilly was killing the ball, blocking and swinging. She was a defensive threat and an offensive threat.”
This Timberline core took seventh place at the state tournament last fall and is more than confident that a deeper run is on the horizon this season. Smith, a two-time Puget Sound League Nisqually Defensive Player of the Year, was part of the turnaround of the team’s culture from a seven-win team her freshman year in 2023 to a seventh-place state finish in 2025. She, along with the five other seniors and the rest of the Blazers team, is determined to end her career on top.
“I don’t think there is a ceiling. We have so many girls that have been here for a while. We’ve built a program where everybody’s always working hard,” Smith said. “The last three years have been pretty strong, and we want to go out with a bang this year.”
Timberline (4-0, 3-0 Puget Sound League) will travel to Gig Harbor Monday, Sept. 21 before a trip to Lincoln on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
