The Montesano Bulldogs completed a startling turnaround in the second half of the season, defeating defending league-champion Hoquiam 3-1 on Thursday at Hoquiam Square Garden, claiming the 1A Evergreen League title in the process.
The Bulldogs (10-6 overall, 8-0 1A Evergreen) opened up a 14-8 lead in the first set thanks in large part of a long service streak from sophomore outside hitter Grace Gooding, who had three aces in the run.
A kill by junior outside hitter Kaila Hatton gave Monte a 25-13 first-set victory.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano junior Kaila Hatton serves during a 3-1 win over Hoquiam on Thursday at Hoquiam Square Garden.
Hoquiam (11-5, 6-2) rallied to take a 21-15 lead in Game 2 on the back of senior middle blocker Kristina Goulet’s net play and the jump-serve of junior setter Katlyn Brodhead. But the Grizzlies struggled to close out the set and the Bulldogs took advantage.
Monte scored seven of the game’s next eight points, tying the game at 22-all on a Hatton ace. A kill by sophomore middle blocker Jillie Dalan followed by a Liv Robinson kill that was blocked out of bounds gave the Bulldogs a 25-23 win and 2-0 lead.
“We called a timeout and said, ‘We’ve got to dig out of this hole and steal back the energy and momentum. We’ve got to keep that on our side,’” Montesano head coach Cindy Wecker said. “It’s unlike us to dig out of a hole like that and I knew that if we did it that (Hoquiam) would be pretty bummed about it. I’m so proud of them for rallying back because I would say that’s not the norm for us.”
One game from seeing a potential co-league championship slip away, Goulet took over. The senior had five kills and two blocks in a 12-1 streak to open Game 3, turning momentum in favor of the Grizzlies.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Hoquiam middle blocker Kristina Goulet (2) had a game-high 20 kills in a 3-1 loss to Montesano on Thursday at Hoquiam High School.
Monte would draw to within four points late in the set, but a drop shot down the line by senior outside hitter Faith Prosch closed out the game 25-20 and got Hoquiam back in the match at 2-1.
The fourth game remained competitive throughout the first 25 points of the set. But with Monte holding a slight 13-11 lead, junior setter Karissa Otterstetter and junior middle blocker Kylee Wisdom found a rhythm Hoquiam couldn’t contain.
Otterstetter served up an eight-point streak and set up tantalizing kill attempts in the middle to Widsom, who gladly obliged with several kills as Monte’s lead extended to 21-11.
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano middle blocker Kylee Wisdom (9) led the Bulldogs with 13 kills in a 3-1 win over Hoquiam on Thursday at Hoquiam Square Garden.
“That was just me trusting my gut and knowing who my best hitter was in that moment,” said Otterstetter, who runs the offense on the court for the Bulldogs.
“That was a huge game-changer,” Wecker said of the Otterstetter-to-Wisdom connection. “(Kylee) came out and was hitting like that and Karissa was using her. That’s one thing about Karissa, she’s very smart and she uses what works.”
Hoquiam rallied back thanks to three kills from Prosch to pull to within two at 24-22, but Monte secured the victory after a Grizzlies return shot went into the net, giving the Bulldogs a 25-22 win and the league title.
“I think the key was our talking. We brought our energy down a little bit and we let them get the momentum,” Otterstetter said of Monte’s success. “We just needed to get the momentum back and bring energy. Any point we got, we were screaming and had good energy and were talking.”
Otterstetter had her typical fill-the-stat-sheet type of game, leading Monte with 36 assists to go along with 15 digs, six blocks and a 20-for-22 service night with three aces.
Wisdom had a double-double with a team-best 13 kills and 11 blocks, Gooding went 18-for-18 in service with six aces, Dalan had nine blocks and Robinson and defensive specialist Bentley Warne combined for 51 digs as Monte got contributions across the board on Thursday.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Karissa Otterstetter (5) put up one of her game-high 36 assists during a 3-1 win over Hoquiam on Thursday at Hoquiam Square Garden. Teammate Grace Gooding (7) looks on.
Hoquiam – which finished second in the league with the loss – was led by Goulet with 20 kills, sophomore libero Lexi LaBounty with 34 digs, and Brodhead with 30 assists and a 26-of-27 evening at the service line.
“We just didn’t attack very well tonight,” said Hoquiam head coach Heather Bozich, who held herself accountable for not getting her team well-enough prepared for the league-title matchup. “We didn’t get our first assist until halfway through the first set. … I think the moment got a little big and we got nervous and when you are nervous you don’t move very well. It was frustrating.”
Bozich added a key difference in the game was the contrast between how the two teams played when faced with deficits.
“When (Monte) got down, they started attacking. They just went after it,” she said. “Our passing wasn’t where it needed to be to keep us in system and we were kind of scrambling a lot. We had a lot of out-of-system balls and they capitalized on that. You can’t send a team like Monte free balls and we were. We started playing soft at the net and that comes from nerves.”
The Grizzlies needed to sweep Monte in straight sets to win the league title and No. 1 playoff spot due to the Bulldogs winning the first meeting 3-1 on Oct. 10. Monte secured the No. 1 league seed after winning the first game, but Hoquiam would have earned a co-league title with the Bulldogs if the Grizzlies won the match.
But Monte had its sights set on continuing its winning streak – which has now reached nine games – and claiming sole possession of the 1A Evergreen League title.
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM The Montesano Bulldogs celebrate winning the 1A Evergreen League title after defeating Hoquiam 3-1 on Thursday at Hoquiam Square Garden.
“It feels really good,” Otterstetter said of winning the league championship. “(Hoquiam) works hard and we work hard too. It feels good to outwork them.”
“We came into this season losing 6-7 seniors. I didn’t know how the season was going to play out losing that many seniors and I didn’t know what to expect,” said Wecker, whose team started the season 1-6 after a rough non-league schedule. “It’s just a great group of girls that had no quit in them tonight and I feel great about it. I’m super proud of them.”
Montesano hosts Trico League No. 4 seed Castle Rock, a team it lost to 3-2 on Sept. 22, in a 1A District 4 first-round game at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Montesano High School.
Hoquiam will take on Seton Catholic – the Trico’s No. 3 team – at 5: 30 p.m. on Wednesday in Castle Rock.
Both teams will play either a district semifinal or elimination game at 7 p.m. later that evening.
Montesano 25 25 20 25 – 3
Hoquiam 13 23 25 22 – 1
Leading players: Montesano – Otterstetter (36 assists, 20-22 service, 3 aces, 15 digs, 6 blocks, 3 kills); Robinson (24 digs, 15-15 service, ace, 11 kills); Warne (27 digs); Gooding (22-22 service, 6 aces, 9 digs); Hatton (18-18 service, 21 digs, 9 kills); Wisdom (13 kills, 7-8 service, 11 blocks); Dalan (5 kills, 9 blocks, 9-9 service, ace). Hoquiam – LaBounty (34 digs, 6-7 service, ace); Bratt (17 digs, 7 kills); Templer (12-13 service, 6 digs); Prosch (18 digs, 14 kills, block); Brodhead (30 assists, 26-27 service, 7 digs, 3 kills, 3 aces); Goulet (20 kills, 10-10 service, 7 digs, 4 blocks); Brook-Andrew (4 blocks, 2 kills); Billie (dig, kill).
