Proper finish?

MLCA sluggish to put Thorp away

The Moses Lake Christian Academy was dominant throughout the first two games of play, then fell apart.

The Lions picked up the win in the third, but kept the door open for Thorp throughout play. Eventually, Moses Lake swept over Thorp with a 25-13, 25-17, 25-22 win at home on Tuesday.

"I felt we played really well the first two games and in the second we got a little sloppy," said Lions' head coach Jennifer Edwards. "We let up a little too much and the girls have trouble putting the game away."

The last time the two teams met, Thorp forced a five-game match, which Moses Lake came out on top. Edwards said she didn't want to have history repeat itself and expected the sweep.

But, inconsistency at the service line eliminated rally opportunities for the Lions and maintained hope to force a game four.

Fortunately, Lindsay Dietzen brought consistency for Moses Lake, serving for four aces in the game and forcing a Thorp error on another, proving dominance with her jump serve style.

"She has a good jump serve and is fairly consistent with it and it is a hard serve to return," Edwards said.

Dietzen's serving for the match included eight aces against the opposition. Dietzen also put down 11 kills in the game, getting fed by Rebecca Hallberg, who finished with 21 assists.

Hallberg's steadiness at the setter position also set up Bethany Verhage for 11 kills in the game.

"This is her first year setting and she is doing a good job," Edwards said. "She is consistent for the most part and confident in herself."

The Lions proved to be the more dominant team, but started slow in the first game after trailing early with a 4-3 deficit to Thorp. Chelsea Allsbrook gave the Lions a comfortable lead at 10-6. Dietzen put Moses Lake in a position to win after serving three aces late in the game to give the Lions a 19-11 lead.

A late, short rally by Thorp closed the gap to 21-12, but a short serve from Thorp's Kailee Knudson gave the Lions the win.

Thorp exchanged shots with Moses Lake early in game two, taking a lead at 9-8, but a three-point swing from Ashley Cole at the service line gave the Lions the momentum needed to pull away.

Hallberg finished out the game with two straight aces to win 25-17 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Moses Lake started game three in dominant fashion, giving sense to a decisive victory. Yet, Thorp had other ideas. After the Lions built a 12-6 lead, Thorp chipped away and closed the gap to 19-16.

"We let up a little too much and the girls have trouble putting the game away," Edwards said.

After exchanging blows, Dietzen closed the match with a kill that crawled over the net and landed out of Thorp hands to end the struggle in the third game.

The win allows the Lions to stay in a guaranteed fourth-place in the North Central Washington league. With the season teetering toward the downslope, Edwards isn't concerned about the placing, just the finish through the districts.

"Last year we finished seventh in league and third in districts," Edwards said. "No matter what happens, we still have a shot at state."