COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Grays Harbor College made things tense when they tied the fourth set at 24, but the Chokers couldn’t complete the comeback in a 3-1 loss at home to Highline on Wednesday.
Highline (23-18, 5-1 Northwest Athletic Conference) took the match 22-25, 25-18, 25-19 and 26-24 on Win a battle of two teams looking to solidify their spots in the postseason.
The Chokers (18-16, 3-3) got off to a strong start by winning the first set, but had trouble on defense in the second and third sets with some of the finesse shots from Highline’s outside hitters.
Grays Harbor head coach Christine Neslon, who was frustrated with the open spaces her team left in the middle of the court, said her team hadn’t had to deal with shots like that too often.
“I don’t know if they got us on hits as much as they got us on tips,” she said. “Most teams hit hard at us but they kind of snuck a few in there.”
The defense had some trouble but there were still some Chokers who put up solid numbers. Lole Taummua and came away with 21 digs. Leleo Maeva added 16 digs in the match for Grays Harbor.
The offense, which stepped it up to tie the fourth set with the Chokers down 23-17, got some solid performances as well. Taummua had 10 kills and four aces. Roina Maafala also had 10 kills along with two aces.
GHC will be looking to get back above .500 in the NWAC when they take on Green River college, which is still winless in conference play.
Nelson is hoping her fourth-place Chokers will finish the season in the top four to qualify for a playoff spot. She is hoping her team can be more consistent next time out.
“We showed life late but if we play like that the whole time, that match is probably a little closer,” she said. “I don’t think we played poorly and we did a lot of good things. We play with so much passion, but we have to maintain that throughout the whole match.”
Highline 22 25 25 26 — 3
Grays Harbor 25 18 19 24 — 1
Grays Harbor’s Crimson Maafala gets her shot blocked by Highline’s Adrienne Haggerty, left, on Wednesday night. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
PREP SOCCER
Kalama 1, Ocosta 0
Ocosta goalie Kristi Raffelson was brilliant in net, but the Wildcats’ offense was non-existent in a hard-fought 1-0 road loss to Kalama on Wednesday.
Ocosta (8-4 overall, Central 2B) only allowed a penalty kick goal and had difficulties dealing with Kalama’s defense, according to Wildcats head coach Mike King. “We couldn’t get any offense going all night,” King said. “Kalama controlled the game throughout. We’ll watch film and get it figured out before districts.”
The Chinooks (12-1) peppered Raffelson with shots all game long, but the senior keeper was a brick wall, stopping several breakaways and point-blank chances in the 14 shots she stopped.
“Raffelson was red hot,” King praised. In fact, her play even dazzled the partisan Kalama crowd, drawing cheers and applause for her incredible performance.
King also gave credit to Wildcats players Keara Arndt-Wingate, Piper Furford, Mercedes Denny, Maia Soderlund, Ryann Raffelson and Teal Mitby.
The loss was he Wildcats’ second consecutive to a team they were looking up at in the standings. Ocosta dropped another one-goal game to the state’s 2B top-ranked team, Adna (12-0), on Monday, Oct. 8.
The Cats host Winlock (3-10) at 6 p.m. on Monday.
Chokers head coach Christine Nelson talks with her team during a timeout in the fourth set against Highline College. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
