Mules handle T-wolves, Trojans

The Wahkiakum Mules moved into a tie for second place in the Central League volleyball standings with a 3-1 match win at Pe Ell on Monday.

The win left the Mules tied with Pe Ell, with Adna ready to claim the league championship. The 10-3 Mules played Toutle Lake (8-5 in league) last night (Wednesday) after The Eagle went to press.

Pe Ell won the first set 25-23, but then the Mules won three straight 25-12, 25-22, 26-24.

"Both teams emptied their tanks giving all they had," commented Mule Coach Jeff Rooklidge.

"A turning point came in the last set near game point when Tori Wegdahl made a tremendous diving save to prevent a Pe Ell kill."

Wegdahl made 24 kills in the match and served 13/14.

Blaine Land had 15 kills, 10 digs and three stuff blocks at the net. Madison LaBerge was perfect with 14/14 serving, including two aces, and she added two kills, one stuff block, and four touch blocks. Setter Brieanna Olsen made 39 assists, three blocks and was 17/19 in serving. Baylee Olsen had three kills and three blocks and served 10 points with three aces, and libero Haylee Budd made 13 digs and served 14/15, with nine points.

Ashley Silva added three touch blocks and a kill; Marissa Washington had one kill, two touch blocks and three stuff blocks; Brianne Helms made six digs, and Maya Stanley had four.

Last Thursday, the Mules beat the visiting Morton/White Pass Timberwolves 3-1. Scores were 25-16, 25-17, 21-25, 25-20 for the Mule win.

"We played pretty efficiently in the first two games with solid defensive play and some pretty good offensive swings," Rooklidge said.

"Morton/White Pass made a lot of good digs, and we stumbled in the third and fourth sets, making a lot of unforced errors--22 hitting errors. The girls persevered and came back to get the win in the fourth set with Blaine keying the come from behind victory with some crucial kills. Brieanna was really dialed in in her serving in the match, and this really helped us."

Brieanna Olsen made 34 assists and had 22/25 serving with 15 service points and five aces with seven digs. Wegdahl had 17 kills, 10 service points with four aces, and eight digs. Land had 16 kills, seven digs and 9/10 serving.

Budd had 10 digs, with three aces and 6/8 serving. Baylee Olsen served 17/18 with three aces, eight kills and 11 service points. Madison LaBerge was 16/16 serving and had 10 service points.

"Ashley Silva had three kills in five opportunities and was our top hitter in efficiency, hitting .600," Rooklidge said. "We had 34 digs in the match and that was a good improvement and something we have been working hard on to improve."

If the Mules finish 3-6 in league standings, they take on the winner of a pigtail game to be played Saturday at Naselle.

If they finish the season in second place, they'll start the district tournament October 31, 7 p.m., against a preliminary round winner. The following round will be November 2, and the finals will be November 4, with four teams advancing to the state tournament.