Aberdeen rallied from two sets down to win the third set before eventually falling to WF West 3-1 on Thursday at Sam Benn Gym in Aberdeen.
Searching for its first 2A Evergreen League victory in four tries, Aberdeen (2-4 overall, 0-4 2A Evergreen) kept the match close against the Bearcats (2-4, 1-2) through the first three sets, but eventually fell 25-22, 25-16, 21-25 and 25-12.
The Bobcats rallied late in the first set to take a 21-20 lead on two consecutive point-scoring blocks from freshman middle blocker Lilly Camp.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen’s Lilly Camp (14) rises for a kill against WF West’s Mari Ceesay during the Bobcats’ 3-1 loss on Thursday in Aberdeen.
But in a theme that repeated itself over the first two sets, Aberdeen struggled down the stretch, losing five of the last six points as the Bearcats took game one.
Aberdeen got off to a slow start in the second set, trailing 12-7 early before cutting West’s lead to a point at 15-14.
Yet again, the Bobcats struggled once they got within striking distance as the Bearcats — bolstered by a long service streak from junior setter Savannah Hawkins — stretched their lead to 23-15 en route to a 25-16 set victory.
In the third set, the Bobcats rallied to tie the set at 12-12 and later at 20-all. But instead of faltering down the stretch, Aberdeen played fundamental volleyball and let WF West make the mistakes. The Bearcats committed four unforced errors before Aberdeen sophomore Cammryn Micheau closed out the set with a kill, giving Aberdeen a 25-21 set win.
“We set the pace in the third set,” Aberdeen head coach Desiree Glanz said. “We had the fire to win and let them make the errors.”
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen’s Emmersyn Yakovich (3) smashes a kill against WF West’s Mari Ceesay (2) and Savannah Hawkins during Aberdeen’s 3-1 loss on Thursday in Aberdeen.
But Aberdeen’s momentum quickly faded as they lost the fourth set 25-12 and the match 3-1.
Micheau had 11 assists. Camp led the Bobcats with seven kills and three blocks.
Aberdeen libero Claire Mottinger had eight digs with sophomore outside hitter Emmersyn Yakovich recording four kills.
Glanz cited Mottinger for her “solid passing and defense,” and noted Yakovich for her “solid hitting and she got to where we needed her to be on defense and shut them down.”
Elma 3, Tenino 0
Playing for the first time in two weeks, Elma shook off the rust with a straight-set victory over Tenino on Thursday in Tenino.
Elma (3-3 overall, 1-0 1A Evergreen) played the first two sets with the Beavers (0-5, 0-2) close — winning 25-22 and 25-21 — before cruising to a 25-6 win in the third and decisive set.
Elma’s Kara Heley had a great game at the service line, completing 27-of-28 serves with a game high nine aces.
“She played very consistently tonight and served great,” Elma head coach Kendra Dunn said of Heley’s play.
Aubrey Moore added six kills and 11 assists for the Eagles.
The game was Elma’s first since a loss to Aberdeen back on Sept. 16.
Elma’s JV team won 19-25, 25-19 and 15-14.
The Eagles C-team lost in two sets.
Montesano 3, Eatonville 0
In their first official league game against one another, Montesano defeated Eatonville in straight sets on Thursday in Montesano.
Monte (5-3 overall, 2-0 1A Evergreen) won 25-10, 25-20 and 25-9 in the first league game between the two schools after Eatonville (1-6, 0-2) joined the 1A Evergreen League last season, but was unable to compete in league games due to regionally-based COVID restrictions.
Olivia Young led the Bulldogs with 11 kills.
Maia Young added seven kills with McKynnlie Dalan recording a team-high nine assists.
Montesano head coach Pat Pace recognized Landree Dohrmann for her back-row play and Olivia Young and Kylee Wisdom for their play at the service line.
Both Monte’s JV and C-team swept Eatonville on Thursday.
Raymond 3, Northwest Christian 0
Raymond continued its dominance this season, winning in straight sets over Northwest Christian on Thursday in Raymond.
The Seagulls (7-0 overall, 5-0 2B Pacific) — who are ranked No. 2 in the state in the 2B classification according to the latest Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s RPI rating — won 25-6, 25-4 and 25-20 to win in straight sets for the seventh consecutive time this season.
“We executed well in the first two sets. We did a good job of turning free-balls into points,”Raymond head coach Bob Swogger said. “In the third set we lost focus and struggled at the beginning and end of the set. Overall, we had a good night.”
Raymond senior outside hitter Kyra Gardner led the Seagulls with 18 kills.
Karsyn Freeman and Grace Busenius had five kills apiece. Busenius also led Raymond with nine aces.
Kyndal Koski led Raymond with 20 digs while Sidney Swogger (4 kills), Caton Swogger (3 kills) and Alia Enlow (3 kills) also contributed on offense.
Raymond’s JV team won 25-13 and 25-8.
Forks 3, Ocosta 0
Ocosta had a hard time finding any offense in a straight-set loss to Forks on Thursday in Westport.
Ocosta (2-3 overall, 2-2 2B Pacific) lost 25-16, 25-17 and 25-17.
The Wildcats only had six kills as a team after playing with a brand new lineup as several starters were out with injuries.
“We never found our rhythm and without solid passing it was tough to get our offense going,” Ocosta head coach Erin Snider said. “Hopefully, when we face Forks again in a couple of weeks we will be at 100%.”
One of the few starters available for Ocosta — Annika Hollingsworth — led the Wildcats with three kills.
