With one starter returning and one of the youngest rosters ever, Travis Mager wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

As it turns out, if a won-loss record is any measure, the 2013 Friday Harbor volleyball team has proven to be one of the best.

The Wolverines bagged victory No. 3 in a row and ninth of the season with a sweep on the road Saturday, Oct. 19, over Blaine. With the win, Friday Harbor claimed its third victory of the year over a 1A regional rival, clinched no worse than a No. 3 seed in the opening round of post-season play, and improved to 9-1 on the season. That’s right, nine wins, one loss.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Mager said of that heady won-loss mark. The team suffered its only loss at Nooksack Valley.

Though not always dominant, the team has clawed out a win even when it hasn’t been on the top of its game. Against Blaine, they fired on all cylinders.

“It’s probably the best match we played all year,” said Mager, now in his ninth year at the helm. “We went through a bit of a rough patch for a while but I think they’re really starting to gel.”

Still, the roughest is yet to come.

With La Conner (11-0) and Lynden Christian (9-1) waiting in the wings, Friday Harbor began its toughest four-game stretch of the year Tuesday, Oct. 22, in a showdown at home against La Conner, and with first-place in the Northwest 1A/2B League standing up for grabs

Next:

Following La Conner, the Wolverines host Shoreline Christian Thursday (4:30 p.m.), Lynden Christian Saturday (1 p.m.), and finish the regular season on the road at Darrington, Oct. 28.