PE ELL — Tuesday was a bounceback opportunity for Pe Ell.
The Trojans fell last Thursday to Wahkiakum, their first loss in over a month, and another loss would give the Mules the chance to leapfrog Pe Ell and take sole possession of first place in the 1B Columbia Valley League.
Pe Ell rebounded in emphatic fashion at home against Oakville, steamrolling the Acorns 25-8, 25-4, 25-3.
“We just went ahead and played our game,” Pe Ell coach Jill Engel said. “It was all good things to be happy about.”
The Trojans were dominant in all phases, particularly from the service line.
Maisy King led the way with nine aces, Karli Phelps had six, Brynnlee Hoffman and Bailey Cox tallied five each, and Ava King collected three. Ava King, Sophia Milanowski, and Madi Engel were all perfect from the line.
Phelps added six assists, four digs, and four kills, while Engel tallied three kills, a dig, and a block. Maisy King had three kills, a block, and an assist of her own, while Hoffman dished out a pair of assists. Milanowski also had two digs, while Ava King had a kill and an ace.
Down three starters, Oakville struggled to string together any kind of momentum.
“That kind of hurt a little bit,” Oakville coach Marisa Lucero said of being down half of her starting lineup.
The Acorns (2-14, 2-8 1B CVL) have now lost three in a row and eight of their last nine, but they will face a Three Rivers Christian team that they beat earlier this month in their season finale on Thursday.
“I hope to see them come out and play a little differently,” Lucero said. “I’m really hoping that they can come together, win again, and end on a good note.”
Pe Ell (12-4, 8-1 1B CVL) remains tied with Wahkiakum heading into the final day of the regular season. The Trojans will face Columbia Adventist at home on Wednesday, while the Mules will host Mary M. Knight at the same time.
If both teams have the same outcome, a tiebreaker match would be played on Saturday in South Bend.
Last year, the two teams met for a tiebreaker to break a tie between second and third, and the Trojans won in five en route to earning their first state bid since 2012. That 2012 season was also the last time that the Trojans won a league title, a feat that they could accomplish as soon as Wednesday.
Engel is hopeful that her team will be able to pull it off, but whether they do or not, the Trojans know that they’ll need to keep improving as the calendar turns to November.
“We’re never done working. I’m seeing our competition is rising to the challenge, and they’re getting tougher,” Engel said, noting Wahkiakum won the second meeting between the two teams this season. “Hopefully we battle for first or second in districts, and that gives us a good ride to a nice seed at state.”
