By Ryan Sparks and Hasani Grayson

Grays Harbor News Group

The Montesano girls soccer team eliminates Elma from league-title competition and another Ocosta volleyball player breaks a school record as we take a look at the prep sports events from a busy Thursday.

PREP SOCCER

Montesano 3, Elma 2

Anna Ayers’ stoppage time game-winning goal against Elma meant more to her than just another score in another league win.

“This means everything,” she said. “We worked so hard for this game, to prepare for this game and it feels amazing to beat the rival, especially on their senior night.”

Ayers’ goal came off an assist from Brooke Streeter who hit Ayers with a pass deep in the box after going on a run down the sidelines, which allowed the Bulldogs to pull out the 3-2 victory at Davis Field on Thursday.

The Eagles (8-5-1, 4-3 Evergreen 1A), who had been dropping more players back on defense in the second half, sent more players forward in search of an equalizer, but couldn’t get another shot on goal before officials blew the final whistle.

Elma appeared to be in control of the game after Molly Johnston tied things up at two goals apiece in the 74th minute when she beat Monte goalkeeper Savannah Dilley on a low shot to the far post.

Eagles head coach Scott Rockey was disappointed with the result and said that his defenders had trouble marking up when Monte’s forwards turned on the speed.

“It was a good, solid game. We played really well and got opportunities,” he said. “We moved the ball up and down the field, but when the turnarounds happened, we didn’t have the speed to catch up.”

The two teams played a game that was a tight throughout, with the teams exchanging goals in the fifth and sixth minutes. Elma’s Brooke Sutherby opened up the scoring before Monte’s Glory Grubb knotted things up at 1-1 a minute later.

Elma’s playoff picture didn’t change much with the loss, but it does keep the Eagles from competing for a league title as they are two games behind Montesano with one game remaining.

Montesano (11-1-1, 5-1) still has a chance to lock up a league title with a key matchup against second-place at Tenino on Oct. 25.

Montesano head coach Fidel Sanchez said he’s optimistic about where this team can go after winning a competitive match.

“We had a good display of possession and we had some good opportunities and it was really nice to see those plays going forward,” he said. “We don’t normally get down like that but we showed some great character to come back and tie it up.”

Montesano 1 2 –3

Elma 1 1 – 2

Tumwater 3, Aberdeen 1

Aberdeen put fourth an admirable effort against the league’s top team, but struggled to get shots on goal in its 3-1 loss at Tumwater on Thursday.

Tumwater (8-6, 8-0 Evergreen 2A) struck first in the fourth minute, but Aberdeen tied the game before halftime with a goal from Emmy Walsh in the 20th minute.

Aberdeen (4-9, 2-7) had trouble at the back early in the second half and surrendered a goal in the 41st minute and another in 51st minute off of a set piece that gave the Thunderbirds some breathing room at 3-1.

Aberdeen head coach Larry Fleming thought his team put fourth a solid effort but is still looking for more offense going forward.

“The girls played really well against the No. 1 team in the league, communicating better on defense and offense, but just couldn’t seem to hit very many solid shots on goal,” he said.

Aberdeen 1 0 — 1

Tumwater 1 2 — 3

Hoquiam at Raymond-South Bend match postponed

Thursday’s scheduled match between the Hoquiam Grizzlies and Raymond-South Bend Riptide at South Bend High School was postponed due to a lack of an officiating crew.

A decision will be made on Friday by school officials as to whether the game will be rescheduled or Raymond-South Bend will forfeit the match.

Be sure to follow The Daily World sports Twitter feed @DW_GHSports for updates.

PREP VOLLEYBALL

Ocosta 3, Life Christian Academy 0

Ocosta’s Kaylee Barnum poses for a photo after breaking the school’s all-time kills record with 158 in a win over Life Christian Academy on Thursday in Westport. (Submitted photo)

For the second consecutive game on its schedule, an Ocosta Wildcats player etched her name into the record books.

Just two days after Emily Snider broke the school’s all-time assist record, teammate Kaylee Barnum had 14 kills in a straight-set win over Life Christian Academy (5-8, 3-4 Pacific 2B) on Thursday to become the school’s all-time kills leader with 164. Barnum broke Shana Studwell’s mark of 157, set in 1998.

Ocosta (12-0, 7-0) won 25-11, 25-18 and 25-15 to remain a game up on South Bend for the league lead with two games left on the schedule.

Barnum went a perfect 14-for-14 in serves on her record-breaking night.

Layne Martin had 11 kills and was 10-for-10 in service, including four consecutive aces to close out the match. Kylee Poirier had eight kills and a team-high five blocks in the match and Snider added to her school-best mark with 28 assists. Evalyn Marsh had 13 digs to lead Ocosta.

The Wildcats face Chief Leschi at 7 p.m. on Monday at Chief Leschi High School.

Life Christian Academy 11 18 15 — 0

Ocosta 25 25 25 — 3

Elma 3, Monte 0

Elma’s Jalyn Sackrider gets a kill against Montesano on Thursday. Sackrider was one of two Eagles with 10 kills on the night. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)

In a match that featured two close sets, Jalyn Sackrider and Quin Mikel came up big with 10 kills apiece in Elma’s 3-0 win over Montesano on Thursday night.

Elma (9-4, 7-0 Evergreen 1A) maintained its perfect record by winning the sets 25-17, 25-13 and 25-23.

Elma cruised through the second set, but had to come back from being down 19-18 in the decisive set to complete the victory after a few tense points.

Elma head coach Kendra Henry said her team had good energy on the court with the excitement of playing a rival on senior night.

“I’m really proud of how they played tonight,” she said. “It seemed like they had a lot of fun tonight and that’s when we’re playing our best. Montesano played really scrappy but Elma played well and everyone was on fire tonight.”

Montesano was plagued with hitting errors in the second game of the match and struggled to get its hitters going.

Montesano head coach Renee Volz said her team needs to play with more consistency to beat teams like Elma.

“We struggled to come together as a team and keep at a constant all night,” she said. “Its positive that we didn’t stay down. We had a let down but we came back, so I’m proud of the girls for not keeping in the slump. We need to learn not to get in the slump in the first place.”

The Bulldogs (5-7, 2-4) will play in the Adna Tournament this Saturday while Elma will play at the Mountain View Tournament in Vancouver the same day.

Montesano’s Emma Jensen gets a shot over the net against Elma on Thursday. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)

Montesano 17 13 23 — 0

Elma 25 25 25 — 3

Top Players: Elma – Anna Perez (16 digs), Ella Moore (22 assists); Montesano – Emma Kahler (4 kills), Lindsay Pace (3 kills)

South Bend 3, Northwest Christian 0

The South Bend Indians kept pace with Ocosta of the league’s top spot with a straight-set victory over Northwest Christian on Thursday at South Bend High School.

South Bend (9-3, 6-1 Pacific 2B) was solid from the service stripe, led by Joshlynne Johnson and Riley Hampton each going a perfect 14-for-14 in serves on the evening. The Indians finished the match serving at a 92-percent clip as a team.

Jessica Sanchez continued her stellar senior season, leading South Bend with 15 kills. Riley Hampton and Karley Reidinger chipped in with six kills apiece for the Indians offense.

Alathia Markwell and Livvie Ogilvie was noted by South Bend head coach Kelsey Staats as leading the Indians’ defense.

South Bend won 25-15, 25-23 and 25-13.

“We fired on all cylinders tonight,” Staats said.

Northwest Christian 15 23 13 — 0

South Bend 25 25 25 — 3

Forks 3, Hoquiam 0

Hoquiam dropped its third straight league match with a 3-0 loss to Forks on Thursday at the Spartan Gymnasium.

Forks (10-3, 5-1 Evergreen 1A) won 25-18, 25-23 and 25-22.

“We actually played well, but lost momentum from quite a few questionable calls,” Hoquiam head coach Heather Bozich said.

Hoquiam (5-9, 2-5) was led by Sharaya Brydon’s seven kills and 10 digs. Kacey Pelan led the Grizzlies with 18 assists and ReyLynn Dunn chipped in with nine kills for Hoquiam. Elyse Goulet added seven digs and six kills for Hoquiam.

Bozich noted the play of freshman Kamryn Krohn for replacing injured senior middle blocker Rylee Vonhoff in the second set and playing well throughout the remainder of the match.

Hoquiam plays at the Adna Tournament starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Hoquiam 18 23 22 — 0

Forks 25 25 25 — 3

Tumwater 3, Aberdeen 0

The Aberdeen Bobcats never found their groove in a straight-set loss to Tumwater on Thursday at Aberdeen High School.

“Tumwater served well, moved the ball around on offense and kept us out of rhythm all night,” Bobcats head coach Doug Blaser said. We tried to move the ball around on offense but just struggled, again, to put balls away.”

Hailee Baretich led Aberdeen with seven kills and was perfect from the service line for a Bobcats team that lost 25-9, 25-15 and 25-16.

Aberdeen (4-9, 2-6 Evergreen 2A) hosts Black Hills at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Tumwater 25 25 25 — 3

Aberdeen 9 15 16 — 0

Wishkah Valley 3, Taholah 2

Wishkah Valley pulled out a tight one in Taholah, beating the Chitwhins 3-2 on Thursday night.

The Loggers got solid net play from Brooke Haskey and Baylee Buchanan who made life difficult for Taholah’s outside hitters.

Wishkah also limited the serving errors with Erica Bomhoff only committing one error in 22 serve attempts.

Loggers coach Katrina Eaton said she was proud of the way her players responded when they were put under pressure.

“It was a battle back-and-forth all night. I’m proud of the girls for working together to get the win. It was a little stressful at times but an exciting game,” she said.

Wishkah 24 25 25 25 18 – 3

Taholah 24620 27 19 16 –2

PREP CROSS COUNTRY

Ocosta’s Cain seventh, Todd ninth at Pacific League Championships

Ocosta cross country runners Natalie Cain and Dylan Todd placed in the top 10 in their respective races at the 2B Pacific League Championships on Thursday in Westport.

Cain placed seventh in the girls race with a time of 20:13.

Todd ran a 16:49 to take ninth place in the boys race.

The Ocosta boys team placed fourth overall with 82 points.

Northwest Christian dominated the boys race, with Noah Phillips winning the league title with a time of 15:04 as the Navigators swept the top three spots and totalled 21 points, more than 40 points better than second-place Ilwaco (66). Life Christian Academy placed third with 70 points.

Daniel Quinby (16:55), Alex Bailey (17:01) and Ryan Anderson (17:50) rounded out Ocosta’s top four.

Led by Cain, the Ocosta girls team placed third with 68 points behind second-place Ilwaco (46) and Northwest Christian (20).

Life Christian’s Gabby Martin won the league title with a time of 18:09, followed by teammate Madison Hull (18:55) and NWC’s Ava Shackell (19:22), in second and third place, respectively.

Kjirstin Hopfer (21:19), Lucy Toney (26:07) and Annie Collier (26:23) rounded out Ocosta’s top four.

Results were not yet official at the time of this writing.

For full race results, visit athletic.net/CrossCountry/Results/Meet.aspx?Meet=148524&show=all.