Moses Lake season ends at districts

Lady Chiefs fall to Eisenhower in five-game battle

KENNEWICK — Moses Lake's season came down to a game five battle Saturday.

"We played great, we played nervous, we played confident all in the same match," said Moses Lake head coach Amy Utter.

The Lady Chiefs began the game with a good note, earning a sideout to earn the first point of the game and then continued to dominate the game, taking a 7-2 lead before Ike could gain possession.

Eisenhower took advantage of the opportunity and tied the game at 7.

Both teams traded points and sideouts. A kill from Jhenesis Garza gave Moses Lake serve and a 13-13 tie but the Lady Chiefs could not maintain serve. Eisenhower scored the final two points of the game to win 15-13.

"Jhenesis is probably the most consistent player on the team," said Utter. "Brianne and Kelsey (Padilla) got a ton of balls on defense for us."

In game one, Moses Lake came out tough, taking an 8-6 lead on the serving of Garza. Garza served four points during her first stint behind the line and had the help of Rebecca Madrishin and Amanda Hickman at the net.

"Amanda did a great job and so did Shayla (May)," Utter said.

The Lady Cadets battled back, taking a brief 11-10 lead before Moses Lake earned a sideout for the 11-11 tie and sent Brianne Roylance back to serve. Roylance extended the lead to three points with help at the net from Taisha Haines who earned the 13th point of the game on a block.

A late run by Eisenhower kept the game tight but the Lady Chiefs were able to whether the pressure with Hickman ending the game with a hit for a 25-22 win.

Moses Lake lost games two and three 21-25 and 22-25 respectively.

The Lady Chiefs came back in game four, scoring the first point on a serve from Shayla May before siding out and then continued to earn points and sideouts.

Eisenhower kept the game close, with both teams trading a tie and leads with nearly each possession until Hickman served for the 16th point of the game. The Lady Chiefs then began chipping away for the last points of the game, winning 25-21 with tough team play.

"It's hard with so many seniors because there's no reward," Utter said. "It was good to take the team to the next level and we worked hard today."