Vikings can't contain Walla Walla's Grumbach
Photos by Neil Pierson/Columbia Basin HeraldBig Bend outside hitter Ali Walen goes high above the net as Walla Walla defenders Jenna Kragt (10) and Noelle Carstens (5) get in position for the block during the first game of Wednesday's NWAACC volleyball match.
Warriors' star with 26 kills to spoil Big Bend's home finale
MOSES LAKE - After getting trounced in the first game of Wednesday's home finale, the Big Bend Lady Vikings gathered together and had a little chat.
Vikings head coach Michael De Hoog led that conversation, but didn't credit himself for what happened next.
"You always feel like you have an impact when you say something," De Hoog said later. "In reality, they just decided that they weren't going to go out that way. They knew that game one was kind of unacceptable."
The visiting Walla Walla Warriors took game one with ease, but Big Bend roared back to take game two. The Vikings hung tough to the end of games three and four before Walla Walla prevailed 30-18, 23-30, 32-30, 30-27 at DeVries Activity Center.
The big reason the playoff-bound Warriors (29-6 overall, 10-3 East Division) were able to escape? Freshman outside hitter Amanda Grumbach, who blasted 26 kills over, through and past a determined Big Bend blocking scheme.
"We had a couple rotations, a couple lineups that blocked extremely well," De Hoog said. "Even if we weren't getting a block for a kill…they slowed it down enough for our back row to make a play on the ball."
That showed on the final stat sheet, as Big Bend (2-11, 8-23) finished with 17 team blocks, including five solo blocks by freshman Kaitie Poston. After hitting .256 in game one, the Warriors didn't do better than .163 in the last three.
"But we did have a couple runs where it looked like we had holes in our block and they'd hit right through it," De Hoog noted.
That was enough for Walla Walla to get the win, in spite of a Big Bend team that played tremendous defense and spread the wealth on offense. Emotions were also high as the Lady Vikings celebrated Sophomore Night by bidding farewell to Malorie Clark, Niki Forsberg and Laura Tinnell.
Clark finished with 10 kills, nine digs and three assists in her final home match. De Hoog talked about her work ethic from day one this season - she was the only returning player working out on a regular basis because Forsberg and Tinnell were playing softball for the Vikings.
"Malorie was in here every day lifting by herself, doing her plyometrics on her own every day," De Hoog said. "You don't see that dedication too much any more."
The coach used words like "reliable," "responsible" and "genius" to describe Forsberg, an all-conference academic selection. She collected 17 digs, 11 kills and five assists on Wednesday.
"I'm not sure if she's planning on going on and playing, but she could," De Hoog said.
Tinnell, an Ephrata High School product, probably had the most difficult task of any Viking entering the season. After five years at outside hitter, she made the switch to setter over the summer to fill a team need. Tinnell showed off her versatility on Wednesday with 38 assists and eight kills - most of which were surprise tip shots that found holes in Walla Walla's defense.
"I knew she could do it," De Hoog said of Tinnell's shift. "She was a hitter, so she knows where sets need to be and I think that made the transition easier for her."
The Warriors broke loose from an 11-all tie in game one, and appeared they were well on their way to another easy victory by taking a 6-1 lead in game two. But the Vikings rallied behind Poston, who had two blocks and four of her team-high 12 kills in the frame. Back-to-back kills from Forsberg and Clark gave Big Bend a 17-15 lead it never relinquished.
Big Bend shut down Grumbach, but she carried the Warriors in the critical game three with 10 kills, including the last three points. Walen's kill in game four closed the Vikings' deficit to 28-27, but they lost the last two points. Walen added 12 digs and nine kills.
Big Bend travels to the conference's final crossover tournament of the year this Friday and Saturday at Spokane, then end the season next Wednesday with a 6 p.m. match at Blue Mountain.
With the final home match in the books for his three sophomores, De Hoog reminisced over his time with each of them.
"As a group, all three of them are tremendous people," he said. "One of the unfortunate parts is you get kids you like and really grow close to, and you have to say goodbye after two years."
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