PE ELL — After a win last week, Pe Ell coach Jill Engel said that her team knew it would have to keep improving as it prepared for the difficulties of a potential postseason run.
Pe Ell got its first playoff test at home on Monday, and though it came down to the wire, the top-seeded Trojans were able to hold off No. 4 Ocosta 25-20, 17-25, 22-25, 25-16, 15-13 in a 1B District 4 Quarterfinal.
“A little bit too much excitement,” Engel said after the game through a nervous laugh. “It was kind of hairy. You get a little nervous there, and you just hope they come through and they do what they can do.”
Entering Monday, Pe Ell and Ocosta had already faced twice this season, but the Trojans came away with 3-0 and 3-1 victories.
A 6-0 run helped the Trojans take control of the first set in the third meeting on Monday, but this time around, Ocosta didn’t roll over.
The Wildcats took both the second and third set to go up 2-1, and in those sets, the Trojans struggled on defense and in serve receive.
Engel credited Ocosta’s servers, specifically Ocosta libero Shae-Lynn Thurston, who had “a wicked serve on her.”
Engel also noted that over the course of the regular season, the Trojans were playing with softer balls, which led to an in-game adjustment period against the strong serves.
“It does make a big difference on how we receive those hard-hit balls,” Engel said. “We just had to relax, stop being so stiff, and take it in to put it up.”
Down 2-1, Engel took a moment to calm her team down in the huddle before the fourth set.
“We just had to keep focused and know that those sets are gone,” Engel said. “We have to move forward.”
In the fourth set, Pe Ell looked more like itself, building a 14-4 lead and rolling to force a fifth.
The fifth was tied at eight, 10, 11, 12, and 13 before the Trojans were able to score the final two points of the game and advance.
Karli Phelps dished out 20 assists and also had six kills and four digs, while Madi Engel posted 15 digs, 14 receptions, 12 kills, and three aces.
Maisy King finished with 11 digs, nine blocks, seven kills, five receptions, and three aces, and Peyton Zock added five kills and two blocks.
Sophia Milanowski collected 22 receptions, 16 digs, and three aces, and Ruby Magruder tallied six receptions and four digs.
Pe Ell will now turn its attention to Wednesday, when it will play Taholah at Toledo for a spot in the district title game and the state tournament.
If the Trojans are able to win, it would mark their first trip to a district title game since 2012, when they defeated Mossyrock in the 2B District 4 Championship Game.
A loss would put them in a winner-to-state elimination game.
“The goal is to be playing Saturday for one or two,” Jill Engel said. “We have a lot of work to do (Tuesday). We’ve got a plan, we just have to work through it … Hopefully we come in Wednesday nice, tough, and refreshed.”
