Mule upset Ducks in league volleyball

The Wahkiakum Mule volleyball team played its best and its worst matches of the season this past week.

The Mules lost 3-1 at Pe Ell last Thursday and followed that Tuesday with a 3-2 upset over the Toutle Lake Ducks, a perennial power in Class 2B volleyball.

"We followed our worst match of the season with our best," said Coach Jeff Rooklidge. "No one seems to know how long it's been since Toutle lost a league match; I think it's been 15 years or more since we've beaten them."

The Mules won the first two matches 25-23, 25-22; Toutle then won two, 25-17, 25-19, and the Mules grabbed the lead in the final match and won 15-12.

Caitlin Nicolazzi had 13 kills and four stuff blocks, Rooklidge said. Blaine Land added 11 kills and made 12 service points, and Amy Gawith had eight kills.

"Brieanna Olsen ran the offense well and had 22 assists," Rooklidge said. "Haylee Budd played her first match at libero; she picked up some key digs for us."

The win left the Mules with a 4-3 Central League record.

Last Thursday, it was a different story at Pe Ell. The Mules lost 25-21, 22-25, 21-25, 18-25.

"We really struggled and had a ton of hitting and service errors," Rooklidge said.

Land, however, had her best match of the year with 17 kills, and Gawith added six.

The Mules host Winlock on Thursday, and Adna next Tuesday.