Ephrata dropped from playoffs

Grandview sweeps, Omak outlasts eliminated Tigers

EPHRATA - Disappointment crossed the face of Laura Tinnell while Omak celebrated in the background.

Tinnell and the rest of the Ephrata volleyball team were eliminated from the postseason by the Pioneers in a five-game series. The Tigers got the better of Omak during the regular season, but, there was nothing good after falling 25-16, 21-25, 25-18, 15-25 and 15-5 Saturday in the CWAC district tournament.

"I think we got better as the day progressed," Tinnell said, but added, "Omak came ready to play."

And so did Pioneer outside-hitter Kelsey Speiser, who single-handily eliminated the Tigers in the final game, scoring five of the 15 points in the game.

"After Speiser got a couple of hits and we weren't able to finish, we got scared," Ephrata head coach Kim Crown said.

The Tigers came off a sweep from Grandview in their first match of the day and were beaten handily by the Greyhounds in three games, who would eventually sweep Kiona-Benton in the final round to clinch the No. 1 seed to the state tournament.

Following the loss, the Tigers could never find the touch that propelled them to a 3-1 win over Connell on Thursday.

"Everything was off just a little bit," Crown said.

Off enough, that between Ephrata's two big hitters, Tinnell and Emily Lewellyn, combined for 50 shot attempts and landed only 19. Tinnell, who played in her last game as an Ephrata Tiger, as the Pioneers ganged her on the outside to hold her to five kills in the entire match.

"I think she played fine," Crown said. "When you are a strong player, they are going to key on you."

Ephrata opened the match with the first point once in the contest, scoring in the opening game with a kill from Lewellyn. Following the Tiger point, Omak slowly pulled itself away to build a 13-5 lead.

Britney Ratigan gave Ephrata hope late in the game, with a four-point momentum swing from the service line that included an ace, Tinnell block and Lewellyn tip, but not enough momentum to keep the Pioneers from pulling off the 25-16 opening win and four straight game-losses for Ephrata.

Omak continued to pull away from the Tigers in the second game, but Ephrata bounced back with a rally of its own to tie the game 11-11. Both sides found winning shots in the contest and kept the score close, but two tips late in the game from Lewellyn clinched the 25-21 victory.

But Omak never backed down and continued its relentless pursuit of the Tigers. Kimberlee Orr led the Pioneers to a 4-0 lead, but Ephrata committed two violations to help the cause.

Miscommunication and violations cost the Tigers five points in the match and resulted in a 25-18 win in the third game.

Ephrata showed its dominance in the fourth game, building a double-digit lead over Omak that tied the series at 2-2 with a momentum swing favoring the Tigers.

"We thought so after winning the fourth game," Tinnell said about Ephrata's momentum. "But after you get down it is hard to catch up."

Just like the previous four games, Omak took a lead, but this time never relinquished it with a 15-5 win and a birth to the 2A state volleyball tournament.

It was the third time the two teams met this season, Ephrata took both games 3-1 and 3-2, but couldn't find the charm for the third meeting.

"I thought they played hard and well against Omak," Crown said. "They are a hard team to beat three times in a row."