ADNA — The beginning of the postseason isn’t the ideal time to change things up, especially for a team that’s unbeaten.
But after a sickness knocked one of their players out of the lineup, the Adna Pirates were forced to improvise.
Coach Wendie Dotson turned to freshman Alyssa Carroll, who started her first varsity game on Saturday in the 2B District 4 quarterfinals against Toledo.
“That’s a huge thing to do as a freshman coming in, having not ever played a varsity game,” Adna coach Wendie Dotson said. “Alyssa did a really good job.”
Adjusting in game, the Pirates had a few lulls offensively throughout the match, but they were able to put it together when it counted most, sweeping Toledo 25-19, 25-20, 25-15 to advance to the district semifinals.
“They had to make a lineup adjustment on the fly,” Dotson said. “That was something that they kind of had to work through. And the players that came in did a really good job.”
While the offense did sputter at times on Saturday, it was also able to quickly pile up points to stretch the lead.
In the first set, the Pirates went on an 8-3 run, and they followed it up by opening the second set with a 10-3 run. The third and final set was the Pirates best, as they overcame an early deficit to end the game on an 18-8 run.
“That made me feel good, knowing that they can go in, and they didn’t go in with the jitters,” Dotson said. “They went in and played well … it’s nice to know that they can make an adjustment and still get things done.”
In her first varsity action, Carroll finished with four digs, three kills and an ace. Danika Hallom led the offense with 15 kills, though Karsyn Freeman was only one back with 14 and Kendall Humphrey added 12.
Hallom and Ava Simms had a team-high 13 kills, while Humphrey tallied 10 and Gaby Guard had nine. Guard was also the facilitator for the Pirates, dishing out 37 assists.
While the Pirates were adapting on their end, the Riverhawks didn’t make it any easier for them on the other.
Toledo defenders rallied to the net quickly, trying to disrupt Adna’s up-tempo offense. While blocks didn’t pile up, they were able to sustain several long rallies.
They weren’t able to capitalize on those rallies, however, as they were working through some offensive struggles of their own.
“I felt the girls played well and as a team,” Toledo coach Kelli Larson said. “But hopefully, we can get more in system passes to help us do a better job of running our offense.”
Four Riverhawks ended up with double-digit digs, led by libero Lyndzie Filla, who had 20. Ellie Fallon had 18, Whitney Olson recorded 14, and Stefa Arceo-Hansen tallied 13.
Arceo-Hansen and Fallon led the offense with eight and six kills, respectively, while Jordynne Hensley added five of her own.
“The girls really fought hard, and they didn’t give up,” Larson said. “It was a good game for us to prepare for the rest of the tournament.”
Because of the tournament’s double-elimination format, the Riverhawks still have a chance to make the state tournament.
On Wednesday at Onalaska, they will take on Ilwaco in an elimination game at 6 p.m. If they win that game, they will face the winner of Ocosta/Forks in another elimination game at 7:30.
As for the Pirates, they will remain at home as the hosts on Wednesday, when they will take on Rainier at 5:30 p.m. The winner of that game will clinch a spot in the district championship game on Saturday, and they will also seal their spot at the state tournament.
The loser will move down to the lower bracket, where a win would also clinch a spot at the state tournament.
Riverhawks down Hyaks in first round
The Riverhawks earned the right to play Adna in the quarterfinals by sweeping North Beach in the first round, winning 25-13, 25-15, 25-12.
The offense was led by Fallon and Irys DeAguero, who each had eight kills. DeAguero’s efficiency stuck out to Larson, who noted that “everything she hit seemed to be a kill out of the middle.”
The Riverhawks played with a lead for a majority of the game, only briefly falling behind once in the second set by just one point and at the beginning of the third set.
Filla and Olson were the defensive pillars, combining for 27 digs.
