ADNA – Mossyrock put together one of the high grade performances that they have become known for here on Tuesday as they vanquished the Pirates in straight sets of Central 2B League volleyball play.
After falling behind for a fleeting moment in the opening moments of the first set Mossyrock turned the tables and wound up winning 25-8 after Paige Moorcroft took control at the service line and held court as her team cranked out 12 straight points. The Vikings took the second set by a score of 25-16 and the final set by a score of 25-13.
“We have such a balanced attack. We are just productive at every position,” said Mossyrock coach Alex Nelson of her team’s biggest strength.
The quality of the roster was evidenced by the final counting statistics on Tuesday. Stephanie Fried posted eight kills and nine digs while Heather Edgar notched eight kills and two blocks. Faith Mulligan managed six digs and six kills while Andee Nelson cobbled together six digs and five kills.
The Vikings attack was most imposing at the net where the Mossyrock frontline allows no hit to go uncontested. That relentless effort kept Adna out of sorts for most of the night but the young Pirates were able to piece together a few solid runs to keep things interesting.
After falling behind 9-1 to start the second set the Pirates slowly clawed back with a series of strong serves in order to make a game of it again at 19-16.
“Serve receive is something that we are looking at improving on,” said Nelson in critique of her defending state runner-up team that is considered by many in the know to be a favorite to capture the state title this year.
Adna coach Wendi Dotson was well aware of how talented the Vikings were before Tuesday night and she was pleased with the fight her relatively young team showed in the face of their battle-tested foes.
“They are a solid team. They have a lot of weapons and it’s hard to defend against them,” said Dotson. “I’m happy they kept digging in. Any point you can score against Mossyrock is a big point.”
Anna Jones scraped up six dogs for the Pirates and Adison posted four kills. Doton added that Taylor Rolfe played well off the bench and Ruby Bower passed the ball well for the Pirates.
For Mossyrock senior captain Stephanie Fried credited her team camaraderie for their sustained success on the court. She noted that the upperclassmen on the team have been playing together since middle school and that the younger players came in this season ready to contribute.
“We communicate really well together,” said Fried, who noted that communication is key to preventing all-out defensive scrambles from turning into bumbling chaos. She added that when the Vikings get on one of their infamous offensive hot streaks the entire team can sense the, often audible, synergy mounting.
“You know you’re going to finish strong and nearly every hit is going to be a point because you’re just feeling it,” said Fried.
Currently working on an undefeated season, Nelson said critical for her players to retain their drive to improve as they prepare for another playoff run in hopes of bringing home some championship hardware.
“We’ve got to work on not letting the lulls show up so often. That’s what we’re looking for,” said Nelson.
Mossyrock will host Kalama on Thursday.
Centralia Sweeps Rochester
The Tigers made quick work of the Warriors on Tuesday, as Centralia earned a 3-0 win over Rochester in an Evergreen 2A Conference volleyball match in Centralia.
Centralia won each set 25-12, 25-15 and 25-9.
Rachel Wilkerson recorded 13 kills, 10 digs and 100 percent serving and McKenna Smith had eight kills and three blocks. Chelsea Petrino added seven kills and 12 digs and Danika Jensen was 21 of 21 serving with eight digs for the Tigers.
Centralia’s Kylie Sharp tallied seven digs, three aces and was 10 of 10 serving. Joelle Mettler had 27 assists and three kills and Kennedy Strophy recorded four kills.
“It was a nice team effort tonight, the girls came out and jumped out to a big lead. We’ve been wanting to start games more effectively early in the season and we did a nice job receiving serve,” Centralia coach Neil Sharp said. “We didn’t get aced a single time. Smith did a nice job attacking tonight, one of best middle blockers in league. She was swinging hard tonight, it was great to see.”
Centralia (12-3, 1-0 league) travels to Tumwater on Thursday for an EvCo match.
Tumwater Drops W.F. West
TUMWATER — The defending league champions were too much for W.F. West here on Tuesday, with Tumwater winning 3-0 in an Evergreen 2A Conference volleyball match.
Tumwater won each set 25-15, 25-15 and 25-9.
Megan Pallas led the Bearcats with six kills and Ashlyn Whalen added nine digs.
“I don’t think my girls mentally played well. We made a lot of errors, 17 attack errors, missed 17 digs,” W.F. West coach Emily Mora said. “We didn’t really play together at all tonight.”
W.F. West (2-3, 0-1 league) hosts Aberdeen on Thursday in a EvCo match.
Onalaska Falls to Wahkiakum
ONALASKA — The Loggers put up a fight here on Tuesday, but fell to Wahkiakum 3-1 in a Central 2B League volleyball match.
Onalaska won the first set, 25-10. Wahkiakum responded and was able to win the next three sets 25-22, 25-20 and 25-20.
Sophia Leal had 30 defensive passes and was 6 of 6 serving and Phoebe Rich added 10 kills, four blocks and was 26 of 26 serving for the Loggers.
Onalaska’s Alicia Vint recorded 22 assists and was 12 of 12 serving and Olivia Mitten added 10 kills and two blocks.
“My girls came out and we executed the gameplan in the first game like we had drawn up in practice, then we just stopped hitting after that first game,” Onalaska coach Terri Dalsted said. “Wahkiakum never gave up, I feel like once we learn how to persevere, it’s going to get us over the hump and we’re going to be a real dominant team.”
Onalaska (0-4, 0-2 league) travels to face Morton-White Pass on Thursday in a C2BL match in Randle.
Timberwolves Shred Pe Ell-Willapa Valley
MORTON – The Timberwolves downed Pe Ell-Willapa Valley in straight sets here Tuesday night in Central 2B League volleyball action. Morton White-Pass actually got stronger as the night went along winning 25-18 in the first set, 25-11 in the second set and then 25-8 in the finishing frame.
“The girls did a good job of keeping the pressure on each game and pressing each game to be a little bit better,” said Tammy Kelly.
Carly King led the well-rounded Morton-White Pass effort with eight assists and five kills while Hannah Smathers dished eight assists. Delanie Hannah added nine kills for the Timberwolves to pair with a perfect serving effort.
“Jacie Dunlap served and passed well in the back row for us,” added Kelly.
Morton-White Pass (2-4 overall, 1-1 league) will host Onalaska at White Pass High School on Thursday.
Tigers Tame Rainier
NAPAVINE – A tough Tiger squad made short work of Rainier here Thursday in their Central 2B League matchup with wins of 25-13, 25-9 and 25-12 in straight sets.
“We served well tonight as a team,” said Napavine coach Monica Dailey, who reported 22 aces for her team.
“Ada Williams had a great night for us,” added Dailey. WIlliams tallied 13 aces to go with four assists and five defensive digs.
Fellow Tiger Melissa Lee posted four kills and three block kills to go with a perfect serving effort and Dailey noted that both Sydney Purvis and Haily Murray made big contributions for Napavine with their play at the net.
After the big league win Dailey said it will be important for her team to get back to work refining their craft as they prepare for the home stretch of the season.
“We really need to focus on our serve receive and just make some adjustments on defense. But overall, I think we’ll be fine,” said Dailey.
Napavine (5-0, 2-0 league) will play at Adna on Thursday.