Lady Lions capture district title

by Tony Vehrs<br>Herald Staff Writer
| November 3, 2006 8:00 PM

MOSES LAKE — After splitting the first two games with Entiat in the district championship match, Moses Lake Christian Academy took their game to another level, defeating the Tigers 25-15, 19-25, 25-7, 25-13 to earn a trip to the state 1B volleyball tournament.

MLCA looks toward 1B State Tournament

After losing game two to allow Entiat to tie the match at one, the Lady Lions fell behind 2-1 in the third match when a serving error gave the Tigers the go-ahead point. Inaccurate serving contributed to the loss in game two, but the problem was quickly corrected in the third game.

"We didn't get our serves in," said MLCA coach Dean Spurbeck of the Lady Lions' struggles in the second game.

After falling behind 2-1, MLCA only missed on one serve in game three. Accurate serving, combined with powerful hitting at the net, allowed the Lady Lions to put big scoring runs on Entiat that quickly turned game three into a rout.

"They were starting to cover our tips, so we had to start hitting the ball hard," said the MLCA coach.

The Lady Lions proceeded to score eight straight points to come back for a 9-2 lead. During the run, Heidi Sandberg had a dig during a rally to keep the ball alive. Later in the rally, the ball was set directly over the net, where Chelsea Allsbrook went up simultaneously with an Entiat hitter and won the battle at the net to earn the Lady Lions the point. Ashley Cole also had a pair of aces during the scoring run.

After an MLCA carry gave Entiat a point, the Lady Lions went on another 8-0 run. An Esther Timofeyev ace and a kill by Bethany Verhage were key plays during the second MLCA scoring run.

Down 17-3, Entiat's play improved late in the game, but they were still unable to mount a serious challenge. Timofeyev's stuff of an Entiat shot got MLCA to game point, and the Lady Lions won the game when an Entiat hitter fired a shot out-of-bounds in an attempt to avoid another Timofeyev block.

The fourth and final game looked as if it would be a tough one early on, with the Lady Lions falling behind 7-3 in the early stages of the game. From there, however, MLCA put together an 11-0 scoring run to take control. Ten of those 11 points came with Timofeyev serving, four via aces.

Late in the game, Lindsay Dietzen's powerful hitting was too much for Entiat, as the Lady Lions' senior blasted several kills off Entiat players that ricocheted far out of play and into the bleachers.

"They both played very well," said Spurbeck of Dietzen and fellow senior Verhage. "All around, they hit very well."

Moses Lake Christian Academy opened the district tournament with a 25-14, 25-22, 25-19 win over Wilson Creek.