It was only the first game of the season, but in many respects the Elma Eagles were in mid-season form.
Elma senior Quin Mikel led all players with 16 kills and 17 digs to lead the Eagles to a straight-set victory (25-8, 25-12, 25-16) over the Aberdeen Bobcats on Tuesday at Sam Benn Gym in Aberdeen.
The Eagles (1-0 overall) were hot from the get-go, showing little signs of early-season rust. Sparked by Mikel’s energetic play and the net presence of Sarah Bridge and Jalyn Sackrider, Elma quickly jumped out to a 12-4 first-set lead. Junior setter Ella Moore helped the Eagles stretch the lead to 21-6 with a six-point service streak.
After Aberdeen (0-1) broke the streak with a point after a long volley, Mikel took over. Fed by clean sets from Moore, Mikel hammered home four consecutive kills to give Elma a victory in the opening set.
“I really just tried to stay positive the entire game because I think positivity is contagious,” Mikel said of the energy she provided that helped Elma get off to a quick start. “If one person starts it, it can be contagious and hopefully affect everyone on the court, which it did tonight.”
Aberdeen showed some signs of life in the second set, jostling with Elma for the early lead. The Bobcats took a 4-1 lead early in the set on the back of a service streak by senior Kennedy Pruett, whose sharp service led to an ace followed by three straight reception errors by the Eagles.
The Eagles tied Aberdeen at 4-4 as the two teams jostled for control of the set, tying each other three more times over the first 18 points of the set.
But Elma began to pull away, going on a 12-2 run as Aberdeen struggled to get clean touches, which led to several errors.
Mikel and teammate Jalyn Sackrider closed out the 25-12 second-set victory with back-to-back kills.
Overmatched and facing a straight-set defeat, the Bobcats showed grit in tying the Elma five times in the early going of the third set and cut the Eagles’ lead to 13-11 after an ace by libero Julizza Ambrocio-Felipe.
Aberdeen libero Julizza Ambrocio-Felipe, middle, receives a serve against Elma on Tuesday at Sam Benn Gym in Aberdeen. (Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)
But Elma’s size, experience and athleticism was too much for the Bobcats to handle as the Eagles pushed the lead up to 18-12 on consecutive kills by Bridge and Sackrider, respectively, before finishing off the set, 25-16.
Despite having multiple athletes playing in different roles, Aberdeen head coach Doug Basler saw plenty of positives in Tuesday’s loss.
“Basically, six of our starting seven are new this year. I think a lot of the jitters were there and we didn’t have that energy, especially in the first game,” he said. “But I think we showed some good things: We served well and I think, at times, we played good defense. … I saw some signs of life, we just didn’t have the energy.”
The victory was a promising one for Elma head coach Kendra Henry, whose team held a 95.9 service percentage on the night and committed just 13 total errors in the match.
“I think we did really good. We controlled the ball well and it was a good start for us,” Henry said. “We talked a lot and kept engaged the whole time. … They stayed focused and we just had a good night overall.”
For Mikel, the season-opening win was a chance for Elma, the early season 1A Evergreen League favorite, to make some noise.
“We really just wanted to come out today and make a statement that we’re here to get things done and not mess around this season,” she said.
Elma 25 25 25 — 3
Aberdeen 8 12 16 — 0
Top Players: Elma — Mikel (16 kills, 17 digs); Sackrider (9 kills, 7 digs); Moore (5 aces, 23 assists). Aberdeen — Pruett (5 kills); Merryn Bruner (10 assists).
