League titans go head-to-head, Ephrata wins

The Lady Tigers defeat Chelan for first time in recent years

EPHRATA — It took the Lady Tigers four games, but they defeated the Lady Goats of Chelan Thursday night.

"It's awesome to win," said coach Kim Crown. "I'm still wondering if it's a dream."

Tensions were high at the beginning of game four, Ephrata had just lost game three by a measly three points and had the look of a team desperate to defeat their rivals.

Kellee Neal got things started in game four for the Lady Tigers, serving four points before siding out. Helping Neal maintain serve were two killer blocks from Holly Hutchinson.

Ephrata was able to stifle Chelan's serving attack and put Britney Ratigan behind the service line.

Ratigan had a great serve that was put away by Emily Lewellyn to bring the match to 7-6 before Ephrata fell to a side out.

Chelan took an 8-12 lead on Ephrata after just two more servers and continued to stymie the Lady Tigers.

Ephrata was able to earn the serve on a side out and Courtney Webb would put her team in the lead for good, serving four points to make the score 17-14. Just before a side out to end Webb's service run, Neal belted a kill for the 17th point.

After a short-lived service for Chelan, Neal served three points for the Lady Tigers.

Jennifer Bair stepped behind the line for Ephrata with her team up 23-19 and served a point before a side out prolonged the game for two more plays.

Chelan sided out to give Ephrata the 25-20 game and match win.

"This was our best match this season," said Crown. "Even with the loss in game three, we stuck in there."

Game three could have decided the match but Chelan got out to an early 3-1 lead and never looked back.

Ephrata was unable to put a scoring rally together and Chelan's fourth server extended the lead to 11-5 before siding out.

The Lady Tigers continued to battle, pulling within two on serving from Webb and extending their brief run with the help of Neal.

Just as the momentum looked to have shifted Ephrata's way, Chelan came back and scored three points, including one ace, for a 20-18 lead. From there game three eked out to a 22-25 loss for Ephrata.

In the first game of the match, the Lady Tigers came out playing solid volleyball, coming from behind to defeat Chelan, who had all the luck early.

It was Neal turning the tide for Ephrata in game one. She served ten points to end the match at 25-17.

In game two, Ephrata battled back from a point deficit to win the match.

Ratigan served two points for her team late but those two points were all Ephrata needed to get their momentum back.

Bair added another two points to the late effort, bringing the score to 20-16 before siding out.

Hutchinson was the last server for either team in game two, serving four straight points for the 25-17 victory.

"It was really a team effort," Crown said. "If there's a weakness it's picked up somewhere else."

Lewellyn ended the night with nine kills and 12 digs. Hutchinson had six kills and 12 blocks. Webb was 15 of 15 serving with two aces and 30 assists. Ratigan had 15 kills and six digs. Neal had six kills, two blocks and four digs.

"If we both win the rest of our matches we'll share the league championship," Crown said. "I can live with that."