Pateros beats back RC in best of five-set battle

PATEROS – The Nannies varsity volleyball team edged a tough Riverside Christian team last Saturday, Oct. 7, in the best of five sets to improve their league record to 5-2 and take third place in Central Washington 1B League.

“This one was a bit of a test of character,” said coach Gene Dowers. “We started a little nervous and tentative and stiff and didn’t quite seal the deal in the first two sets.”

The visiting Crusaders won the first two sets, 25-23 and 29-27 before the Nannies found their range.

“The mood changed when we got back to the tough serving that we’ve been so good at,” said Dowers. “When Sarah Poole and Ashlyn Gonzalez get on a roll at the beginning of a set, confidence builds quickly.”

Poole was perfect with 26 for 26 from the service line. Gonzalez was 25 for 27.

Pateros regrouped to take the last three sets and the match, 25-14, 25-20, and 15-10.

Dowers said the RC game was the Nannies’ best attacking at the net.

“We’ve been focusing our practices on going for kills and reducing errors and the girls did a super job against RCS,” said Dowers. “We had a lot of aces as usual, but we had a lot more kills than aces for the first time.”

Stats

Sarah Poole: 9 kills, 26/26 serves w/6 aces, 1 assist, 19 passes, 25 digs. 

Jissele Ornelas: 5 kills, 3 passes, 2 digs. 

Samantha White: 3 kills, 10/12 serves w/2 aces, 3 assists, 15 passes, 9 digs. 

Andrea Baird: 2 kills, 5/7 serves, 15 assists, 1 pass, 3 digs. 

Ashlyn Gonzalez: 25/27 serves w/8 aces, 2 assists, 14 passes, 21 digs. 

Taylor Harrild: 8 kills, 10/12 serves w/3 aces, 2 assists, 3 passes, 2 digs.

Jessi Hixon: 2 kills, 1 dig.

 Anna Williams: 8 kills, 19/25 serves w/10 aces, 7 assists, 2 passes, 3 digs. 

Jilllian Piechalski: 1 kill.

On the road against Cascade Christian Academy on Tuesday, Oct. 3, Pateros won in three sets, 25-15, 25-7, and 25-15.

“When we play a team a second time, we like to make sure we do something better than the first time,” said Dowers. “In our first meeting, the second set nearly got away from us.”

This time the Nannies did not make the same mistake.

“The girls did a great job of concentrating their efforts to get a much better result,” said Dowers. “Poole led the serving charge again. 

Poole was 23 for 25 from the service line.

“Samantha White did pretty much the same in the other half of the rotation,” said Dowers. “We had 22 aces as a team and very few other stats because the ball just didn’t come back as much as usual.”

Stats

Poole: 2 kills, 23/25 serves w/10 aces, 1 assist, 3 passes, 8 digs. 

Ornelas: 1 kill, 2 digs. 

White: 4 kills, 12/13 serves w/4 aces, 3 assists, 5 passes, 5 digs.

Baird: 1 kill, 6/8 serves w/3 aces, 8 assists, 1 pass, 2 digs. 

Gonzalez: 2 kills, 3/4 serves w/2 aces, 13 passes, 13 digs.

Harrild: 3 kills, 2/3 serves, 3 digs.

Hixon: 4 kills, 1 dig.

Williams: 3 kills, 7/9 serves w/2 aces, 3 assists, 1 pass, 3 digs.

Pateros was scheduled to host Republic, Tuesday, Oct. 10, and Thorp-Easton on Thursday, Oct. 12. The Nannies will be back on the road at Wilson Creek on Tuesday, Oct. 17.