The Friday Harbor volleyball team hasn’t had much to celebrate this season.

Then Shoreline Christian came along.

The Wolverines busted loose with pent-up delight and some sense of relief after burying a young and inexperienced Crusaders squad in three straight game to seal their second win of the year, Oct. 12 in Turnbull Gym.

“I’m stoked,” senior Rachel Hay said of the long-awaited win. “It’s been a struggle for us so far, but we’re going in the right direction. I think we gained a lot of confidence in the way we played against Shoreline.”

With the victory, the Wolverines improved to 2-8 overall, won a match they should have and, perhaps more importantly, snapped a seven-game string of consecutive losses dating back to mid-September.

Senior Zoe Lariviere credits a renewed focus on defense and growing confidence in each other for the team’s ability to be more effective on the court.

“We’ve been working on defense a lot in practice,” she said. “I think we’re bringing what we’ve done in practice onto the court and we’re feeling more confident out there.”

The Wolverines broke open what had been a see-saw battle early on to net the opening game 25-13. They claimed five consecutive points, sparked by a thundering kill by Lariviere, in turning a 20-17 advantage into a 25-17 win in game No. 2.

After falling behind early, the Wolverines rallied to take a 16-15 lead in what proved to be the third and final game as Lariviere drove home another kill. The Wolverines tallied a three-game sweep as sophomore Kaylen Meeker served out the 25-17 win.

Next: The Wolverines faced Concrete, whom they beat at home in three-straight earlier this season, on the road Oct. 14. Results were not available. They hosted the Orcas Vikings on Oct. 19.

The Wolverines travel to Cedar Park Christian on Oct. 21. Their regular-season finale is Oct. 25 at La Conner.