By Ryan Sparks and Hasani Grayson
Grays Harbor News Group
The Elma Eagles volleyball team remained undefeated in league play and Ocosta’s Emily Snider puts her name in the Wildcats’ history books in our roundup of Tuesday’s prep games.
PREP VOLLEYBALL
Elma 3, Hoquiam 1
Elma found itself in unfamiliar territory — down 1-0 — in Tuesday’s match against the host Hoquiam Grizzlies.
But similar to the stoic, even-keeled nature of their head coach, Kendra Henry, the Eagles never panicked and took control after the opening-set loss to win 3-1 over the Grizzlies.
“I think the reason we came out flat was because we underestimated them at first,” said Elma junior Kali Rambo, who had seven kills and 25 digs in the victory. “Then our coach was making us get pumped up. … She was all-around inspiring to us.”
Hoquiam (5-8, 2-4 Evergreen 1A) saw the Eagles crawl back to within a point at 23-22 before the Grizzlies took the first set, 25-22.
But Elma (8-4, 6-0) awoke to cruise to a 25-11 win in set two, capitalizing on multiple unforced errors by the Grizzlies.
That trend continued in set three, where Elma got out to a 7-1 lead which was extended to double digits on a Maddi Clark kill to make it a 13-3 score.
Hoquiam trimmed the score to 18-11, but got no closer as Elma closed out the third set, 25-14.
The two teams traded jabs for the first 14 points of the fourth set before Elma took the lead for good with a 7-0 point streak to give the Eagles a 14-7 lead. Elma eventually closed out the set, 25-14.
“We came out strong in the second game, had better passes and controlled what we were doing on our side of the court,” said Henry, whose experienced team made adjustments on the fly by changing the direction and speed of their kill attempts to keep Hoquiam’s defense off-balance. “They’ve learned a lot in the past three years and have done a good job of being able to mix it up and make adjustments when they need to. … It was so much fun watching them hit and do different things at the net and just have fun with it.”
Elma was led by outside hitter Jalyn Sackrider, who had a monster game. The 6-foot-2 junior had a game-high 16 kills, 20 digs and four blocks in the match.
Quin Mikel also had a big game for the Eagles, recording nine kills and 31 digs as Elma’s defense 111 digs for the entire match.
Hoquiam was led by sophomore outside hitter Sharaya Brydon, who had 11 kills and 13 digs.
Kacey Pelan led Hoquiam with 21 assists and ReyLynn Dunn had 17 digs for the Grizzlies.
“When you are playing someone like (Elma), you can’t lose focus at all,” Hoquiam head coach Heather Bozich said of her team’s hot start but inability to recover. “There were times when we had a game plan but they forgot it, and that can’t happen against a team that doesn’t forget.”
Elma’s Maddie Clark, left, and Sarah Bridge attempt to block a kill attempt by Hoquiam’s Sharaya Brydon on Tuesday in Hoquiam. (Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)
The win gives Elma solid footing to hoist a 1A Evergreen league title at the end of the season. The Eagles currently lead Forks by a game-and-a-half in the league standings with two games left on their regular-season schedule.
Elma takes on Montesano at home starting at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Hoquiam faces the Spartans at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Forks.
Elma 22 25 25 25 — 3
Hoquiam 25 11 14 14 — 1
Ocosta 3, Raymond 1
Emily Snider set the Ocosta school record for career assists with 198 during the Wildcats’ 3-1 win over Raymond on Tuesday. (Photo by Larry Bale)
When the history of Ocosta volleyball is told to future generations, junior setter Emily Snider’s name is sure to be a part of it.
Snider broke the all-time Ocosta school record with the 198th set of her prep career in a 3-1 win over Raymond on Tuesday at Raymond High School.
Snider, who needed four assists to break the school record, got that and then some. She recorded 33 assists to shatter the old record, which has been on the books since 1994.
In a classy move, Raymond High School and game officials paused the game so Snider could be recognized for her accomplishment by those in attendance.
After splitting the first two sets — Ocosta winning 25-15 to open followed by Raymond’s 25-22 victory in set two — the Wildcats won the final two sets by scores of 25-16 and 25-13.
Kaylee Barnum had 23 kills and 12 digs for Ocosta (11-0, 6-0), which remains a game up on South Bend in the 2B Pacific league race with three games left on the schedule.
Kylee Poirier added 11 kills and 11 blocks for the Wildcats.
Ocosta hosts Life Christian Academy at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Raymond (5-6, 3-3) was led by Tina Sypaphay seven kills. Grace Busenius had four blocks for the Seagulls.
Raymond takes on North Beach at 7 p.m. on Thursday at North Beach High School.
Ocosta 25 22 25 25 — 3
Raymond 15 25 16 13 — 1
WF West 3, Aberdeen 0
Despite a standout performance from Tamara Corona, the Aberdeen Bobcats fell in straight sets to WF West for the second time this season with a 3-0 loss to the Bearcats on Tuesday at Aberdeen High School.
Corona led Aberdeen (4-8, 2-5 Evergreen 2A) with 25 digs and a near-perfect service night, according to Bobcats head coach Doug Blaser.
“She has played a lot of great matches for me over the last few years, but tonight was the best I’ve seen her in the back row,” he said of Corona.
Aberdeen lost 25-15, 25-21 and 25-16 and are 1-4 in the month of October.
“The energy was up and we played really solid defense,” Blaser said. “(There was) lots of long rallies but we struggled to finish with kills.”
The Bobcats host league-leading Tumwater at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
WF West 25 25 25 — 3
Aberdeen 15 21 16 — 0
Willapa Valley 3, Pe Ell 0
Willapa Valley’s outside hitters found open floor to place their shots with ease in the Viking’s straight set victory over Pe Ell on Tuesday night at Pe Ell High School.
Willapa Valley (6-5, 4-2 Pacific 2B) didn’t have too much trouble with the Trojans beating them 25-7, 25-14 and 25-16.
Hannah Cook led the way with seven kills and helped out on defense with five digs. While Willapa Valley’s offense cruised, Pe Ell (3-8, 2-4) struggled with hitting errors, making a comeback difficult.
“We were hitting the ball really well and Pe Ell struggled to get an attack going,” said Willapa Valley coach Karisa Hodel. “It was a good night. We got to play bench players tonight so it was a lot of fun.”
The Vikings will take on Chief Leschi on the road on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Willapa Valley 25 25 25 – 3
Pe Ell 7 14 16 – 0
Top Players: Willapa Valley – Kaitlyn McGough (12 assists), Raina Jones (4 aces), Hallee Layman (5 blocks)
South Bend 3, North Beach 0
Jessica Sanchez stood out with 17 kills in the Indian’s 3-0 win over the Hyaks on Tuesday night at North Beach High School.
South Bend swept the match 25-13, 25-11 and 25-18 to get its Pacific 2B record to 5-1. The win keeps South Bend in second place with a one-game lead over Northwest Christian.
North Beach (4-7, 1-5) had trouble keeping pace with South Bend’s offense but got a good defensive effort from Skye Bartell, who had 17 digs in the contest.
The Indians played more of their bench players in the later stages of the match and South Bend head coach Kelsey Staats said she liked what she saw.
“Everyone played tonight, Including two freshman who were pulled up from junior varsity,” she said. “Tonight’s win was a complete team effort and I saw good things from every one of my players.”
South Bend 25 25 25 – 3
North Beach 13 11 18 – 0
Top Players: North Beach – Skye Bartell (17 digs), Madisen Eang (12 assists, 4 digs), Ruby Pope (7 digs); South Bend – Karley Reidinger (17 -17 service), Jessica Sanchez (16 kills), Joshlynne Johnson (12 digs)
Lake Quinault 3, Mary M. Knight 0
The Lake Quinault Elks continued their dominance over the 1B Coastal volleyball league with a straight-set win over Mary M. Knight on Tuesday at Lake Quinault High School.
Kiya Kalama led the Elks with nine kills and went 17-for-18 in service. Liz Guadarrama and Katlynn Neeland each went 13-for-14 in serves for the Elks (6-2, 6-0).
Lake Quinault head coach Sue Kalama admitted her team was off at the start of the match, but they turned it around to play well, up and down the lineup.
“We had a lot of hitting errors early on,” she said. “But every girl that came off that bench played up to par. They were amazing.”
Lake Quinault faces Oakville at 7 p.m. Thursday at Oakville High School.
Mary M. Knight 17 23 17 — 0
Lake Quinault 25 25 25 — 3
Taholah 3, Oakville 0
The Taholah Chitwhins downed the Oakville Acorns in straight sets on Tuesday at Oakville High School.
Taholah (3-5, 3-3 Coastal 1B) won 25-16, 25-17 and 25-15.
Oakville (2-8, 0-5) was led by Joanna Kukhar’s four kills, two blocks and three digs.
Oakville will host Lake Quinault at 7 p.m. on Thursday for the Acorns’ senior night game.
Taholah 25 25 25 — 3
Oakville 16 17 15 — 0
PREP SOCCER
Elma’s Kassedy Olson, right, celebrates with Molly Johnston after Olson broke the scorless tie in the first half of a game against Hoquiam at Olympic Stadium. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Elma 2, Hoquiam 0
With playoff spots hanging in the balance, Elma took a big step toward solidifying its spot in the postseason with a 2-0 win over Hoquiam at Olympic Stadium on Tuesday night.
The win gives Elma a two-game lead over fourth-place Hoquiam. The Grizzlies will need to win both of their remaining games and hope that Tenino losses its last two games in order to sneak into the playoffs.
Elma head coach Scott Rockey was happy to escape with the win but wants his team to play a more polished game next time out.
“We didn’t play as well as we know how to play and as well as we have played for most of the season,” he said. “Our passing was off and our defense wasn’t communicating. It was one of those off games but it’s a win so I’ll take it.”
Hoquiam’s Taylor Strom, left, and Elma’s Brooke Sutherby battle for possession in the second half of a match at Olympic Stadium. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Hoquiam came out looking to force Elma to take shots from outside the box but Kassedy Olson cleaned up a rebound in the box to put the Eagles up 1-0 in the 22nd minute.
Hoquiam’s offense generated a few chances but couldn’t find a way to finish, keeping the score 1-0 going into halftime.
Hoquiam’s search for the equalizer fell flat in the second half as the Eagles turned up the pressure in the 60th minute.
The Eagles kept the ball in the Grizzlies half of the field for about 10 minutes before Brooke Sutherby’s high-arching shot from the left side of the box beat Hoquiam keeper Jade Cox to the far post to put the game out of reach.
Sutherby said her team did a better job of connecting on passes in the second half but thinks the team could have scored a couple of more goals.
“Our passes started to connect and we started breaking them down and got more shots on goal. We just have to work on finishing,” she said.
The Grizzlies also plan to work on finishing when scoring opportunities present themselves as well. Hoquiam head coach Drew Grannemann said he knows his team is capable of better.
“It was disappointing more than anything. Elma is a tough team and we performed better than we did tonight,” he said. “We squandered some opportunities and to see that finish mentality not be present on the field was just disappointing.”
Elma 1 1 – 2
Hoquiam 0 0 – 0
WF West 2, Aberdeen 1
Aberdeen has been playing a lot of close games lately but couldn’t quite pull even with WF West in a 2-1 loss at Stewart Field on Tuesday.
The Bearcats (5-7-1, 4-3 Evergreen 2A) took advantage of defensive mistake by the Bobcats to go ahead 1-0 in the 25th minute.
Aberdeen (4-8, 2-5) played more evenly with WF West in the second half and found the equalizer when Brooklyn Lecomte sent a through ball to Emmy Walsh who beat Bearcats keeper Aeryn Edler one on one in the 50th minute.
Aberdeen kept up with WF West until the Bearcats pulled ahead for good when a shot from outside the box deflected into the goal in the 67th minute.
Aberdeen head coach Larry Fleming said he liked the heart his team shoved in the loss.
“It was a great effort by our girls. They went down a goal twice and they didn’t hang their heads or give up,” he said. “They were able to tie it up and almost take it into overtime for the third time in the last four games.”
WF West 1 1 –2
Aberdeen 0 1 – 1
