Lady Lions too hot for Jaguars to handle

MOSES LAKE - After 10 matches in which they've rarely been challenged, keeping his players motivated seems to be the biggest problem facing Moses Lake Christian volleyball coach Dean Spurbeck.

Moses Lake Christian prepares for tough non-leaguer with Manson

MOSES LAKE - After 10 matches in which they've rarely been challenged, keeping his players motivated seems to be the biggest problem facing Moses Lake Christian volleyball coach Dean Spurbeck.

The Lady Lions extended their overall record to 10-0 on Tuesday, defeating the visiting Easton Jaguars 25-18, 25-12, 25-18 in a North Central Washington League match. Despite being ranked third in the latest state 1B volleyball poll, Spurbeck knows there are things his squad can improve upon.

"Once you get there, you've got to be able to back it up," Spurbeck said. "That's kind of where we're trying to get mentally, that you actually deserve that position rather than it just being given to you."

Easton didn't muster much of a threat beyond game one, where it kept things close until Lions star Esther Timofeyev began taking over. The lanky junior had 14 kills, six digs and four aces on the night, numbers that could've been much higher had she not sat the bench for much of game three.

Ask Spurbeck if he believes Timofeyev is the league's best player and he won't say a word - he'll just nod repeatedly.

"She's learning a lot and the improvement from last year to this year is huge," Spurbeck said. "She keeps getting better and better, so that part of it is really fun to watch."

The team knows, come district and state playoff time, teams will try to focus their defense on Timofeyev. To combat that, the Lions are trying to develop a balanced attack. Easton got a taste of it as senior Heidi Sandberg dropped in 10 kills, seven digs and three aces.

"Heidi has also improved," Spurbeck said. "We lost two big hitters last year, and so the emphasis this year has been hitting, the next stage being really smacking the ball hard. She's starting to step up there, and is hitting the ball pretty decent now."

Senior setter Ashley Cole is the Lions' quarterback and had her usual strong game on Tuesday - 26 assists and four aces.

Spurbeck said staying motivated is the thing his team must work the most on. He's trying to instill a mindset of consistency, one the Lions can carry with them against all teams, good or bad.

"No matter who we play, we try to always play the same," he said. "They're trying to be trained that, you play your game no matter who you're playing, and you play hard all the time."

The Lions' undefeated record will come under siege Thursday when they host Manson in a non-league game. The Trojans are one of the better 2B teams in the state.

"They're probably ranked third or fourth," Spurbeck said. "That's going to be a big game to kind of see where we're at."

It will also prepare Moses Lake Christian for its last three league matches and the district tournament that begins Oct. 31.

"We've actually got a couple of the tougher teams in our league still coming up," Spurbeck noted. "We've still got Entiat, we've still got Pateros and Wilson Creek. We're going to have to make sure we're sharp for that."