PE ELL — In a tiebreaker match against Wahkiakum on Friday, Pe Ell won the first set, dropped the next two, and won the final two to cap off a wild back-and-forth victory.
For much of their district quarterfinal against Willapa Valley on Monday, the Trojans followed that same script, winning the first set, dropping the second and third, and winning the fourth to force a fifth.
The Trojans came out on the wrong end of the fifth and final set against the Vikings on Monday, however, as Willapa Valley earned a 25-27, 15-18, 25-20, 21-25, 15-10 win to advance to the district semifinals.
“They come out strong and then they kind of have to battle,” Pe Ell coach Jill Engel said. “Sometimes they come back, but today it just wasn’t enough.”
The Trojans had all of the momentum after the first set, when they overcame a 20-13 deficit to win in extra points. Willapa Valley took control by taking the next two sets, leading a majority of the way through both.
Pe Ell struggled to string together points in both of those sets, as communication issues and mistakes at the net often flipped momentum back to the Vikings.
“We just need to be more consistent,” Engel said. “We need to make deliberate movements and deliberate actions so that we can dominate the net.”
Much like they did on Friday, Pe Ell stormed back, scoring nine of the first 10 points in the fourth set to take a commanding lead.
They even took a 10-6 lead in the fifth set, but Willapa Valley ended the game on a 9-4 run.
“We could’ve pulled it out. We should’ve pulled it out,” Engel said. “But the girls have nothing to be ashamed of. They are fighters. They fought like Trojans today. And they didn’t lose heart, and I was really proud of them for that.”
Brookelynn King finished with eight assists and three digs, while Madi Engel tallied eight kills, five digs, and two aces. Karli Phelps added five kills, three digs, and three aces, and Brynnlee Hoffman loffed four assists and three aces.
Peyton Zock added a pair of kills and blocks at the net, and Emma Kissner had three digs and a pair of aces.
If they want to return to the state tournament for the first time since 2012, the Trojans (11-8) will have to go the long way through the elimination bracket.
They’ll need to win two straight, starting with an elimination game against Firm Foundation on Tuesday at Toledo. The two teams met twice in the regular season. Pe Ell won the first matchup in five but swept the second.
“We’re looking forward,” Engel said. “It’s just how it goes sometimes. We’re gonna try to wipe this one off, go to Toledo, and cause some damage.”
