Ephrata wins battle of middle-hitters

Ephrata won the battle at the net.

With the help of Emily Lewellyn and Laura Tinnell, the Tigers powered their way over the Huskies in a 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 25-11, 21-25, 15-7) win Thursday in Othello. Tinnell and Lewellyn combined for 31 kills and seven aces in the match.

"They were able to persevere and work hard and can put it away when they had to," Ephrata head coach Kim Crown said.

Othello kept it close during the five-game match with the help of sophomore middle-hitter Ashley Walker who finished with 12 kills for the Huskies.

Walker also made her presence known at the net defensively, stopping five Ephrata kill attempts and landing three for points.

"Our sophomore hitter did a great job and hit the ball well," Othello coach Steve Parris said about Walker's performance.

But, the story belonged to Lewellynn and Tinnell, who also combined for 19 digs and six blocks in the game.

Ephrata jumped out on the Huskies in the first game, building a 9-6 lead to start the non league game. Othello rebounded behind their serve leader Crystal Little, who tied the game at 22-22, but Lewellynn finished the first game with a kill and an officials call that waved off a Huskie point to hand Ephrata a 25-22 victory.

Othello and Ephrata found themselves tied in the second game at 21-21, then the Huskies rallied with two kills from Little and a blocked ball from Aubree Anderson and Melody Garza to even the series at 1-1.

Ephrata completely dominated an absent Othello team in the third game, taking a decisive 25-11 victory.

Othello returned for game four and matched the Tigers point-for-point throughout the game, slowly building a lead against Ephrata to take the game 25-21, a game Crown felt Ephrata should have won to put the match away.

The Tigers trailed 15-14, before giving up two straight unforced errors and allowed two aces from Julee Walker for a 19-14 Othello lead, that decisively put the game away.

"I am wanting them to finish things and that will make them a great team," Crown said. "They have to be able to finish."

Ephrata was in position to put the fifth and final game away with a comfortable 11-2 lead, but Othello staged one last rally to close the gap to 14-7, forcing Crown to call a timeout.

"I was just trying to get them to focus on that next point," Crown said.

Ephrata got the final point it was looking for after Huskie server Kelli Egbert served the ball into the net.