Lady Mules win, lost in 1st district matches

Photos and Story by Diana Zimmerman

A loss to Kalama this weekend sent the Wahkiakum Mules volleyball team to the loser's bracket in the double elimination district tournament. Play yesterday evening (Wednesday) determined whether they would go on to the state tournament or end their season.

On Saturday morning, the Lady Mules faced Willapa Valley and beat them in three sets, 25-17, 25-8, and 25-19.

"This was a really strong match for us overall," Coach Kayli Hurley said. "Both sides of the ball were firing, and my hitters were really consistent across the board."

She praised Macie Elliott and Ellie Leitz for "some great touches at the net." She also had good words for Amber Silva, Mckensi Fluckiger and Sydney Hansen for their defensive play and strong work on serve receive.

The win sent the Lady Mules into the second round that afternoon against Kalama, who has remained undefeated all season. They lost to the Chinooks in three sets, 10-25, 17-25, and 17-25.

"Kalama is a super polished team, and aside from starting a bit slow in the first set," Hurley said, "we did some really good things. My defensive players were working hard to keep the ball off the floor and my hitters worked hard to find an open spot on the court through the tough Kalama defense.

"Standouts were Makenzie Anderson and RayAnna Carlon on the outside."Peyton Souvenir had some huge plays at the net as well as on defense. Savannah Burdick pulled up some huge digs as well."

Last Wednesday, the Lady Mules finished their regular season with a loss to the number two Central 2B team, the Napavine Tigers. The Lady Mules lost in three sets, 14-25, 20-25, and 15-25.

"We had some highlight moments," Coach Hurley said, "and played some scrappy defensive plays, but just couldn't quite put it together in a consistent fashion."

Katie Johnson, Burdick, Anderson, and Hansen were 100 percent from the serving line. Anderson had five kills. Souvenir had four kills and 14 assists. Elliott also had four kills.

"Burdick burned up the back court with some awesome digs and a pass rating of 2.4," Hurley said.

If the Lady Mules won two matches this Wednesday, they were guaranteed a place at the state tournament. If they lost either match, their season is over. Wednesday's results were not available by press time, but will be available on The Wahkiakum Eagle Sports Report page on Facebook.

The teams that remain will travel to Adna on Saturday to fight it out for third through sixth places.