Mules knocked out of state tournament

Despite playing some of their best volleyball all year, the Wahkiakum Mules were knocked out in the third round of the double elimination 2015 State 2B Volleyball tournament in Yakima on Saturday.

In their first round on Friday morning, the Lady Mules faced last year's champions, the Colfax Bulldogs. The last time they met was in last year's championship game, when the Mules took second place.

This year, "it was a hard fought three set loss," according to Coach Kayli Hurley. The Mules lost 20-25, 23-25, and 24-26.

"We led for quite a bit of the second and third sets," Hurley said, "and fought hard against a strong Colfax team. I was proud of the effort of the girls this match and we really did play some great volleyball."

She praised Peyton Souvenir, who had 25 assists, four aces and six kills; Kennedi LaBerge, for her three aces and 12 kills; Grace Peacock, who had five kills; and Tyra Elliott for her "very consistent serve receive."

After the loss, the Lady Mules were moved to the consolation bracket. That afternoon, they faced the Kittitas Coyotes, who had gone 9-9 during the regular season.

It was another close three sets, according to Hurley, but this time the Mules came away with the win, 25-20, 25-19, and 25-23.

"This match was a great overall team effort with everyone chipping in and contributing to keep us in the tournament," Hurley said.

According to Hurley, Peacock had seven kills; LaBerge and Macie Elliott had five kills each; Makenzie Anderson added four kills and had "strong serve receive;" Sydney Hansen had three kills; and Savannah Burdick "was a strong force in the back row for us in serve receive and on defense."

The next day the Mules faced what Hurley described as a strong Reardan team.

"They had many returning starters from last year," Hurley said. "We knew it would be a dog fight and we were right. We showed up ready to play and truly played some great ball this match. Although the scoreboard didn't end in our favor, this is the type of match I consider a win in my own book based on the fact that the girls gave 100 percent effort and were working hard to earn points."

The Mules lost in five sets, 25-21, 22-25, 18-25, 25-21, and 13-15.

"On both sides of the ball we were making some great plays with the defense coming up with some major digs against their big middle hitter and our offense battling at the net against a big block," Hurley continued.

She described her serve receive passers, who are Burdick, T. Elliott, Anderson, and LaBerge, as "on point" with a passing average of 2.14 out of a possible 3.0.

"LaBerge went crazy offensively with 17 kills," Hurley said.

Anderson and Peacock had seven kills apiece; Souvenir had six kills and 37 assists; M. Elliott had three kills and Hansen added two more.

"I was so proud of the way the girls played this weekend," Hurley said. "We had some tough draws on our side of the bracket and they really fought hard. As always, our fire and energy played a large role for us, and my bench is always an integral part of our success. Those girls did an awesome job for us this weekend in keeping the positivity. It was an honor to be part of their journey this year."