Soap Lake wins senior night battle

Lady Eagles take down Kittitas

SOAP LAKE — Heather Barnes and Stevie Stamper celebrated senior night with a five-game win 25-23, 17-25, 25-22, 25-12, 15-9 against Kittitas Tuesday.

The match came down to a race to 15 in game five and the game began with a Soap Lake kill. Both teams struggled to settle into a serving rhythm but the Lady Eagles pulled out of the trouble first and gained a 4-1 lead on the serving of Ariel Wernex.

Kittitas took the lead on a scoring run to make it 6-5 before siding out.

Soap Lake regained the lead on a Kittitas sideout and brought in Jamie Stamper to replace Chelsea Terry to serve. Jamie Stamper served four consecutive points to take a 13-9 lead before siding out after a long rally.

Michelle Marthini finished out the game serving an ace.

"We were all over the place tonight," said Soap Lake head coach Bill Stevens. "But a win is a win."

The Lady Eagles began the game much as they finished it. Marthini gained the serve for Soap Lake with a kill to begin the match. Both teams then traded serves and points for a 5-5 tie game.

Barnes stepped behind the service line to put the Lady Eagles in the lead, serving two points including one ace. The pace of the game evened out, with Kittitas taking a 19-15 lead before Barnes returned to the service line for Soap Lake. Barnes served three consecutive points that included two aces to tie the game at 19.

On the Lady Coyotes' next sideout, Sammy Marthini served for a 2-point lead.

Michelle Marthini was next in the service order for the Lady Eagles but could not finish out the game siding out with the score at 24-22. Soap Lake earned the game winning point with a tip from Stevie Stamper.

The Lady Eagles began game four relinquishing serve and giving Kittitas a point but Stevie Stamper was able to regain the serve for her team with a kill on defense. Wernex then pulled her team ahead 3-1 before Soap Lake sided out.

Soap Lake continued to gain a lead on Kittitas and extended it to 15-7 on the serving of Barnes who earned four points for her team before the Lady Coyotes were able to muster a side out.

Both teams traded serves and points until Mercedes Franks stepped behind the line. Franks served out the game with six consecutive points including two aces for the 24th and 25th points.

Stevie Stamper led Soap Lake with 15 kills and two blocks. Michelle Marthini had eight kills and eight blocks for the Lady Eagles. Franks earned four kills and eight blocks. Wernex finished the night with 25 assists for Soap Lake.