Lady Mules defeat Ilwaco, Naselle

The Wahkiakum Mules volleyball team won two more non-league games this week and brought their record to 4-1.

After losing the first two sets last Thursday against Ilwaco, the Mules turned on the heat and won the next three to take the match. Set scores were 17-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-10, and 15-11.

"We started out really flat," Coach Kayli Hurley said. "No fire. We were just going through the motions and slowly at that. After a heart to heart between sets two and three, my girls finally released themselves to the game and turned the match around."

Hurley's standouts included Charlie Ashe, who had four kills; Solana Stanley, for a "solid all around back row performance," and Jansi Merz, who had six kills and "aggressive play at the net."

On Tuesday, the Mules faced Naselle. They beat the 1B Comet team in five close sets, 17-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-23, and 15-13.

"The Comets have a solid squad this year," Hurley said. "I was impressed by their ability to keep the ball off of the ground. We had to work hard for this win. We weren't firing on all cylinders at one time, but the girls persevered and found a way to get the job done. My defense really picked it up in the last half of the match. We are working hard to control what we can on our side of the net and keep the focus on us and the work we do. We made progress in that way tonight.

It was a total team effort tonight, according to Hurley, who called her bench a lifeline.

Ellie Leitz had 13 kills, and Macie Elliott added 10 more. Mckensi Fluckiger had 16 digs, and Grayci Thomas had 17 assists.

The Mules play Morton/White Pass tonight (Thursday) at home in their first league match of the season.