PREP VOLLEYBALL
Elma 3, Montesano 1
Elma will reign supreme over the 1A Evergreen once again after a 3-1 road victory over Montesano clinched a league title for the Eagles on Thursday.
The victory didn’t come easy for the Eagles (10-2 overall, 7-0 Evergreen 1A), who edged Monte 25-22, 19-25, 25-22 and 25-21.
The loss in the second set of the match was the first game the Eagles dropped in league play all season as the Bulldogs disrupted Elma’s outside hitters with intense defense at the net.
Elma middle blocker Jalyn Sackrider said her team did a better job of hitting from different spots on the floor to make things less predictable for the Bulldogs (9-3, 4-2).
“In the first set, we kept running our set hits and we realized in the second set that wasn’t working because they kept blocking them,” she said. “We ran more things in the third set and that helped a lot.”
Part of Elma’s success in the third and fourth sets came from mixing in Kali Rambo and Quin Mikel into the offense. The outside hitters had 17 and 15 kills, respectively, on the night.
Montesano head coach Pat Pace said the defense had been focused on stopping Sackrider, but had trouble dealing with shots from the outside.
“I think our middles and Zoe Hutchings did a good job of keeping Sackrider in check,” he said. “It went out to their outside hitters a lot more and I think (Kali) Rambo and Quin (Mikel) did a pretty good job mixing it up on us.”
The loss leaves Montesano battling for second place in the league standings with two games left in the regular season.
The Bulldogs will have another key matchup against Forks, which they are tied with for the league’s second seed. The two teams will square off in Forks at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Pace said he thinks his team is still headed in the right direction despite the loss to a league-leading team.
“We’ve probably played the best volleyball in this gym in three years. I’m pretty proud of the way the girls played,” he said. “Does it (stink) to lose? Yes. But Elma is a good team and we played with them.”
Montesano’s Janessa Otterstetter sets up a pass for her outside hitters in the third set of a match agains Elma on Thursday in Montesano. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Elma faces Forks on Thursday at 7 p.m. to cap off the regular season at home.
With the postseason fast approaching, Elma head coach Kendra Dunn said this was a big win for her seniors, who are excited to make some noise at districts.
“We’re feeling good and that was a good win. It means more to our seniors because they accomplished so much the last four years,” she said. “I think we did them right by coming out with a win tonight.”
Elma 25 19 25 25 – 3
Montesano 22 25 22 21 – 1
Top Players: Elma – Ella Moree (44 assists), Sackrider (18, kills, 16 digs), Rambo (17 kills, 18 digs); Montesano — Hutchings (12 kills, 2 blocks), Otterstetter (17 assists),
Forks 3, Hoquiam 1
Hoquiam couldn’t maintain its hot start and fell 3-1 on the road to Forks on Thursday night.
Forks (10-3, 4-2 Evergreen 1A) came away victorious with scores of 12-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-15 and recovered after the Grizzlies (2-11, 0-6) started strong.
Carsyn Munger helped provide some of the early momentum with her play at the net and finished the night with 10 kills and three blocks for the Grizzlies.
Hoquiam head coach Heather Bozich said Forks’ service game helped turn the tide in favor of the Spartans in the second set.
“We started off with a lot of momentum and energy. We passed really well and we were able to run our offense,” she said. “In the second set, Forks served really tough and we had a hard time in serve receive, which carried over for the next two sets.”
Hoquiam will try to pick up its first league win of the season when it faces Tenino on the road on Tuesday. The rare double-header will start at 5:30 p.m.
Forks 12 25 25 25 – 3
Hoquiam 25 19 15 15 – 1
Top Players: Hoquiam – Maggie Mazariegos (20-20 service, 13 digs), Munger (10 kills, 3 blocks), Hailey Lawerence (19 digs)
Ocosta 3, Life Christian Academy 0
Ocosta didn’t have too much trouble in its 3-0 victory over Life Christian Academy as the Wildcats got a 17-kill performance from Layne Martin to secure the win on Thursday in Lacey.
The Wildcats (10-2, 6-1 Pacific 2B) won the match 25-18, 25-9, 25-12 to help them stay in second place in the league standings.
Ocosta also got a strong service game from Lillyan Barnum, who had seven aces.
The Eagles’ record drops to 1-6 in league play with the loss.
The Wildcats are back in action on Monday with a 7 p.m. home match against Chief Leschi.
Raymond 3, North Beach 0
Raymond took a big step toward securing a playoff spot with a straight-set victory over the North Beach Hyaks on Thursday in Raymond.
The Seagulls (7-5, 5-2 Pacific 2B) got six kills apiece from Tina Sypaphay, Sidney Swogger and Caton Swogger en route to a hard-fought 25-11, 26-24 and 27-25 victory.
After Raymond used a strong service game to cruise to a first-set victory, North Beach (7-6, 3-4) made a game of it with all-around better offensive play.
“In the second and third sets, North Beach served very well, which gave us some troubles,” Raymond head coach Bob Swogger said. “They also started passing and attacking the ball better. I’m not sure how we pulled out the last two sets.”
Raymond sits in fourth place in league, one game behind Ilwaco (9-3, 6-1).
The Seagulls face Northwest Christian at 7 p.m. on Monday in Lacey followed by a home match against Ilwaco at 7 p.m. on Wednesday to close out the regular season.
North Beach 11 24 25 — 0
Raymond 25 26 27 — 3
Top Players: Raymond — Sypaphay (6 kills, 2 aces); S. Swogger (6 kills, 6 aces); C. Swogger (6 kills)
— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
Lake Quinault 3, Wishkah Valley 0
Kariana Fowler had 14 kills and nine digs to lead Lake Quinault to a straight-set victory over Wishkah Valley on Thursday at Wishkah Valley HIgh School.
Lake Quinault (12-1, 7-0 Coastal 1B) won 25-23, 26-24 and 25-13, coming back from 10 points down in the second set to pick up the victory.
Nichole Tiemeyer was 16-for-18 in service while Katlynn Neeland added three kills and nine digs for the Elks.
Lake Quinault hosts Taholah on Tuesday. Time to be determined.
Lake Quinault 25 26 25 — 3
Wishkah Valley 23 24 13 — 0
Top Players: LQ — Fowler (14 kills, 9 digs); Tiemeyer (3 kills, 6 digs, 16-18 service); Neeland (3 kills, 9 digs)
— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
Northwest Christian 3, South Bend 1
Though a young South Bend volleyball team showed signs of improvement, the Indians fell 3-1 to Northwest Christian on Thursday in Lacey.
South Bend (1-11, 1-6 Pacific 2B) sported a 94% service rating on Thursday, but lapses in defense were the Indians’ undoing in the 14-25, 25-18, 27-29 and 12-25 loss.
“Although we didn’t win tonight, we took steps in the right direction,” Indians coach Kelsey Staats said. “There was some great volleyball on both sides of the net tonight and it was refreshing to see this young team compete.”
Hannah Jewell (18-19 service) and Makaylee Kuiken (21-22 service) led South Bend. Reece Williams added 10 digs and two blocks for South Bend.
The Indians host Pe Ell at 7 p.m. on Monday.
South Bend 14 25 27 12 — 1
Life Christian 25 18 29 25 — 3
Top Players: South Bend — Jewell (18-19 service); Raydynn Morley (5 kills); Williams (10 digs, 2 blocks); Dayna Estle (4 blocks)
— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
GIRLS PREP SOCCER
Montesano 1, Elma 0
A late goal from Annabelle Estrada gave Montesano the 1-0 home win over Elma in a tense match at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano on Thursday.
Estrada’s goal came in the 64th minute off of a corner kick from Vanna Prom. Prom placed her kick low and deep into the box where Estrada found the ball amongst heavy traffic and beat Elma keeper Grace Koonrad.
Montesano head coach Fidel Sanchez expressed disappointment that his team wasn’t able to finish on more of its chances, but said that rivalry games don’t normally go according to plan.
“It’s a rivalry game. It’s one of those things where the longer your rival stays in the game the more confident they’re going to get, and that’s what happened,” he said. “Elma is a feisty team and they fight for every ball and we just have to overcome those kinds of things. Nonetheless, we got the result and that’s all that counts.”
Elma’s Jillian Bieker (12) protects the ball from Montesano’s Vanna Prom late in the second half of a match on Thursday at Jack Rottle Field. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Montesano (10-3, 6-1 Evergreen 1A) applied more pressure in the second half and had three opportunities near the goal front to score, including a shot from Izabel Cope that went off the cross bar in the 58th minute.
Though the back line allowed more chances that what he would have liked, Elma head coach Evan Valentine said he was pleased with his team’s effort for the most part.
“We’re getting close and closer every game. And hopefully if we can get through to districts we’ll be hitting our stride just in time,” he said. “Our back four did a good job, but we got a little too split up at the end of the second half. For most of the game they played really well and I’m proud of them.”
Elma (4-8-2, 3-5) is in contention for the third and final seed in districts if the Eagles close out the season strong. Elma is currently tied with Hoquiam and can make the postseason if they win out.
Elma’s next match comes against a winless Forks team on the road at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Montesano will play Forks on Monday in a home game at 6 p.m.
Tumwater 4, Aberdeen 0
The physical play of the first-place Tumwater Thunderbirds took its toll on Aberdeen in the Bobcats’ 4-0 loss on Thursday in Aberdeen.
Aberdeen (7-6, 4-4 Evergreen 2A) stayed with Tumwater (12-1-1, 8-0) through the first 40 minutes, only giving up an own goal for a 1-0 deficit at the half.
But the Thunderbirds’ physicality finally got the better of the Bobcats midway through the second half as two Aberdeen defenders were sidelined with injuries, leading to three Tumwater goals in a 15-minute span.
“The girls played really strong against the No. 1 team in the league, communicating better on defense and offense and winning the ball as much as possible in a very rough match,” Aberdeen head coach Larry Fleming said.
Aberdeen sits in a tie for third place with WF West and hosts Black Hills in a Senior Night game at 7 tonight.
— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
Hoquiam 4, Raymond-South Bend 1
Hoquiam got four goals from three different players in a well-rounded offensive effort that lead to a 4-1 win over Raymond-South Bend at Olympic Stadium in Hoquiam.
Hoquiam (6-7-1, 4-4 Evergreen 1A) got on the board early with a goal in the opening minute from Tauni Hilliard, who scored with her left foot from 18-yards out.
Hoquiam built on its one-goal lead with a goal from Sadie Carlyle in the third minute that came off a cutback pass from Hilliard from 25-yards out.
The Grizzlies capped off their early-game onslaught with another goal in the fifth minute from Taylor Strom, who shot from a tight angle to beat the keeper and give Hoquiam a 3-0 lead.
Hoquiam’s Emily Daniels scored the Grizzlies’ fourth goal of the game off an assist from Ellie Winkleman in the 45th minute.
Raymond-South Bend (3-10, 2-6) picked up its only goal of the match in the 12th minute off of a free kick from 22-yards out.
Hoquiam’s next match comes at Tenino at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
RSB will try to bounce back with a game against Montesano on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Montesano celebrates as a team after Anabelle Estrada’s goal in the 64th minute in a game against Elma at Jack Rottle Field. Montesano won the game 1-0. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
