After losing the first set, Walla Walla Community College took the next three for a match victory over Blue Mountain with 17-25, 25-20, 25-23 and 27-25 scores in NWAC East Region volleyball action at the Dietrich Dome on Wednesday.
Morgan Ness finished the match with 12 kills for WWCC (29-5 overall, 10-2 in the East), Emmah Peterson added eight, teammate Abbey Schwager dished 32 assists, and Pomeroy alumn Kacey Halbert hustled to make 23 digs.
“Great team win,” Warriors coach Chelsie Speer said. “It showed a lot of resilience.
“We weren’t at our best at times, and weren’t always following the game plan,” she continued. “But the one thing about this group, they finally got to the point where they never give up.
“It was awesome to see that.”
Second-place WWCC kept pace with undefeated Spokane, which improved to 30-0 overall with a sweep of Yakima Valley on Wednesday, and the Warriors added a little more cushion over third-place Blue Mountain.
The East will send its top four teams to the NWAC Championships in Tacoma, Nov. 15-18.
And with four matches left in the regular season, WWCC needs one more victory to clinch a tournament berth.
The Warriors next play at seventh-place Big Bend on Friday starting at 6 p.m.
The Vikings picked up their fourth straight loss at North Idaho with a sweep on Wednesday.
“It’s going to be tough at their place,” Speer said. “We beat them in three here (on Sept. 28), but they have a good hitter that handled us pretty well here at home.
“We definitely can’t just go in thinking it’s going to be a cake walk,” she added. “We’ve got to show up and play our game for every single point.”
Blue Mountain forced the Warriors to compose themselves on Wednesday after taking the first set with an 11-3 finish.
WWCC then mounted a 17-9 lead in the second set, and held on to even things up.
The Warriors would take the final two sets, but both times, Blue Mountain put together late threats.
Though WWCC served with a 24-19 lead in the third set, Blue Mountain put up four straight points before the Warriors escaped on Peterson converting an assist from Schwager.
The fourth set saw Blue Mountain serve with 24-23 and 25-24 leads, but each time, WWCC managed to stay alive.
Walla Walla ended up finishing the match with a three-point run, Ness and Peterson combining on a block to wrap things up.
“It was huge,” Speer said. “But a lot of composure on the floor, great leadership to keep us focused on the floor.”
Wednesday’s match was the third this season between WWCC and Blue Mountain, with the Warriors taking the last two.
“They’re good,” Speer said. “They’re solid.
“They know us well, and I knew it was going to be competitive,” she added. “I was expecting it to go at least four or five (sets), knowing that it could go either way.
“They’re well-coached, they run a good offense, they’re a tough play in NWAC for sure, so we knew it was going to be competitive.”
Article by Hector del Castillo of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
