Mt. Whitney’s best water polo Tuesday night came after the boys stopped trying to find their way individually and began finding one another.

A loose start against Hanford gave coach Steven Chapman plenty to address. But the Pioneers responded, tightening their play and settling into a more connected attack on the way to a 14 to 5 victory. As Whitney’s discipline improved, Hanford’s frustration grew. By the end of the night, the Pioneers were playing with the cohesion that had been missing early.

Some of their most effective work came right in front of the cage. Whitney kept finding sophomore Micah O’Dell with a lofted dry pass near the cage. He used a powerful eggbeater kick to lift his long frame above the surrounding players and redirect the ball into the cage. The tip shots rewarded both the delivery and O’Dell’s timing. He finished with four goals, sharing the scoring lead with junior Jamen Radmacher.

Radmacher’s contribution stretched beyond finishing. He also supplied two assists and three steals, helping Whitney turn its growing organization into opportunities at both ends. Senior Ruben Ramirez added three goals, two assists and three steals of his own. It was the kind of shared workload that made the Pioneers increasingly difficult to contain.

Freshman Zane Piper continued to show that a player does not have to score to shape an offense. The lefty kept looking for the teammate with the better opportunity and finished with four assists. His vision has become a familiar part of Whitney’s attack. He also handed out eight assists in the win over Dinuba. Against Hanford, his passing again helped put teammates in position to finish.

Sophomore Alexander DeBock contributed three assists, giving Whitney another player willing to create for someone else. O’Dell added an assist to his four goals, and the Pioneers finished with 12 assists on their 14 goals, a fitting measure of how much better the attack looked once the ball began doing more of the work.

Senior Elijah “Eli” McLennan has an extremely powerful arm, and nobody wants to be in the way when he lets the ball fly, including the cage, apparently. It managed to avoid his first few shots, but he eventually found his mark and finished with three goals. His night also included a physical encounter that ended with a Hanford player being ejected for the remainder of the game.

Behind it all, senior Casey Sherbrook gave Whitney a steady presence in the cage. The goalkeeper recorded seven saves as Hanford finished with five goals. In front of him, the Pioneers collected 11 steals, with O’Dell adding two and Piper, McLennan and DeBock contributing one apiece alongside Radmacher and Ramirez.

The final margin was comfortable. The more encouraging part was how Whitney got there. The boys listened, adjusted and played with more purpose as the game went on. A ragged beginning became a night of well timed passes, shared scoring and a team finding its rhythm together.