After cruising through the first two sets, the Elma Eagles found themselves in a dogfight against the Centralia Tigers. But led by senior Jalyn Sackrider’s 18 kills, the Eagles outlasted the Tigers to earn a 3-1 victory on Monday evening at Elma High School.
Elma (3-1 overall) looked dominant against what appeared to be an overmatched Centralia (0-2) team in the first two games.
“We were trying to run some faster (sets) since Centralia typically is a slower team, so we were trying to come out with a bang,” Elma outside hitter Quin Mikel said of the Eagles’ hot start.
The Eagles won the first game 25-14 behind four kills and a block by Sackrider.
The 6-foot-3 senior followed up an impressive first game with an even better performance in the second set, recording four straight kills followed by a block to help the Eagles jump out to a 13-1 lead en route to a 25-11 game two victory.
“I think we really came out strong and with the attitude of playing our game and not worrying about what’s going on with the other side of the court,” Elma head coach Kendra Dunn said. “They did great in the first two games and had a lot of energy.”
“Everyone had energy and we celebrated all the little stuff,” Eagles middle blocker Sarah Bridge said of Elma’s early onslaught.
But in the third game, the Eagles let off the gas pedal and Centralia took advantage. Playing with less energy than in the first two games, Elma fell behind 4-0 early before clawing back to tie the set at 9-9.
Game 3 would remain close, with neither team stretching a lead to more than three points until a ball off an Elma block deflected out of bounds to give Centralia a 21-17 lead.
After an Eagles timeout, Elma cut the deficit to 21-20 on a Sackrider ace.
But the Eagles failed to complete the comeback attempt as three of Centralia’s last four points of the set were due to the Eagles struggling to volley the ball back over the net as the Tigers took set three 25-21 to avoid the straight-set sweep.
“(Centralia) never gave up. They continued to fight,” Dunn said. “We didn’t play to our potential (in Game 3) and we lost energy and made a lot of careless mistakes, and that’s really tough to get out of.”
Elma’s Hannah Warren (4) and Jalyn Sackrider block the shot of Centralia’s Madelinn Corwin (5) during the Eagles’ 3-1 win over the Tigers on Monday at Elma High School.(Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)
“When we started making mistakes, we got down on ourselves,” Bridge said. “Everyone else felt (the negative) vibe and we had to pick it back up again.”
“We just stopped talking all of a sudden, which isn’t like us,” Mikel added. “We really just needed to pick up the energy and communication in that game. That’s why we struggled.”
Early in the fourth set, the Eagles looked to squash any Tigers upset hopes as Elma, led by Mikel, Bridge and outside hitter Kali Rambo, surged out to an 11-4 lead.
But Centralia, which found its form in the previous game, refused to quit, battling back from two eight-point deficits to trim Elma’s lead to one at 19-18.
Elma responded with three big plays in a row — a point on a drop shot from Mikel, a block by Bridge and an ace from Rambo — to take a 22-18 lead.
The Tigers rallied for three of the next four points to cut the Elma lead to 23-22, but Centralia failed to get a volley back over the net followed by a hitting error led to Elma’s 25-22 Game 4 victory, and a 3-1 match victory.
After the game, Dunn reflected on what she told her team during a crucial timeout late in the fourth game.
“Basically what I said is that they need to fight for what they want and to communicate and overcome what’s happening on the court,” she said. “They needed to find within themselves what they needed to do to get the job done.”
In addition to her 18 kills, Sackrider had seven digs, five aces and three blocks. Mikel finished with nine kills and 12 digs and Rambo had 10 kills, 14 digs and five aces.
Bridge added five kills and two blocks as Elma continued to smash home kills the entire game off of 33 assists by setter Ella Moore.
“We have some powerful hitters on our team and it’s pretty nice when we get a swing and they can’t block us,” Bridge said.
Centralia 14 11 25 22 — 1
Elma 25 25 22 25 — 3
Top Players: Elma — Sackrider (18 kills, 7 digs, 5 aces, 3 blocks); Mikel (9 kills, 12 digs); Kali Rambo (10 kills, 14 digs, 5 aces); Bridge (5 kills, 2 blocks)
Montesano 3, Morton-White Pass 0
Montesano got double-digit contributions from multiple athletes en route to a 25-13, 25-13 and 25-11 victory over Morton-White Pass on Monday at Montesano High School.
Monte (3-1) was led by Emma Jensen’s 10 kills, Janessa Otterstetter’s 12 assists and 12 digs from Mylaina Parker.
Myah Gallagher also got in the double-digit stat column with 10 assists and Jessica Stanfield had a 15-point service streak for the Bulldogs.
“This was a game where all the players could receive accolades,” Monte head coach Pat Pace said. “They really played like a team tonight, moving well on defense and constantly attacking so that it was hard for MWP to mount any offensive attack.”
Monte also got contributions from McKynnlie Dalan (four blocks), Carlee Bradbury (seven digs) and Addi Winter, who came off the bench with two kills and two blocks in the decisive third game.
Montesano takes on the Centralia Tigers at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Centralia High School.
Morton-White Pass 13 13 11 — 0
Montesano 25 25 25 — 3
Top Players: Montesano — Jensen (10 kills); Otterstetter (12 assists); Gallinger (10 assists); Dalan (4 blocks); Parker (12 digs); Bradbury (7 digs)
GIRLS PREP SOCCER
Ocosta 0, Onalaska 0
Ocosta’s defense held the unbeaten Onalaska Loggers to just seven shots and no goals for the game.
The only problem for the Wildcats was the Loggers defense returned the favor.
Led by its defensive backline of Maia Soderlund, Kianna Battiste, Jennifer Guevara and Trinity White, Ocosta drew to a scoreless tie with Onalaska on Monday at Onalaska Memorial Stadium.
While Ocosta (2-2-1) held Onalaska (4-0-1) for the first time this season, the Loggers defense held the Wildcats to just four shots with just one shot coming off from an Ocosta forward.
According to Ocosta head coach Mike King, the game was mostly a back-and-forth midfield affair with both goalkeepers making relatively easy saves.
“We came to play and the defense continued its improvement,” he said. “We look forward to taking on the top teams in the league and step it up when challenged.” according to Coach Mike King.
Ocosta faces Napavine at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Ocosta High School.
BOYS PREP GOLF
King’s Way Christian 168, Montesano 170, Elma 194
King’s Way Chrisitian got a low-round, 9-hole score of 38 from Conor Shaddy to defeat Montesano and Elma on Thursday at Oaksridge Golf Course.
King’s Way Christian (168) — Conor Shaddy 38, Ty Mairs 40, Aiden Pisarcyk 44, Colin Trang 46, Dawson Nesbitt 48, Hunter Davenport 48,
Montesano (170) — Ben Royer 40, Nate Johnson 40, Ben Wills 43, Kody LaLonde 47, Payton Prom 48, Dylan Schoch 49
Elma (194) — Jared Moline 44, Max Olson 44, Noah Hull 52, Alex Moran 52, Zeke Mueller 54, Bradey Bunch 58
