Davis rallies past Chiefs in five

MOSES LAKE - It's not often the first match of the league season carries with it as much drama and tension as Thursday's Moses Lake-Davis volleyball showdown at Chief Gym did.

The Chiefs and Pirates battled back and forth for five nail-biting games before Davis walked off the court with a 25-20, 16-25, 23-25, 25-16, 17-15 triumph in the Columbia Basin League tip-off for both schools.

Moses Lake had its share of potential heroes in the slugfest - senior setter Shayla May and junior outside hitter Iesha Garza both would've qualified. May buried seven kills, served five aces and dished out 16 assists. And whenever the Chiefs needed to hold serve or get a crucial sideout, they went to Garza, who finished with 15 kills, 10 digs and four aces.

But the evening's star - and likely difference-maker between the teams - was Davis sophomore Alyssa Shultz. Final statistics for the PIrates' 6-foot-1 middle hitter weren't available, but she dominated at the net and put down several important kills, including the last one of the match.

"Volleyball's a huge game of momentum," Chiefs head coach Amy Utter said. "We ended down in momentum. But we are a new team, very new to each other, very young and just the more we play together, the more experience they're going to get."

Sophomore setter Karlyn Stoltman added 17 assists and senior Becky Madrishin chipped in eight kills for Moses Lake.

Moses Lake actually had a pair of match points, leading 14-12 in the fifth game. But the PIrates dug out Garza's serve, got two kills from Shultz and took advantage of Madrishin's serving error to win.

The Chiefs took an early lead in game one, but Davis responded with its serving attack, eventually building its lead to five points. Moses Lake also missed junior outside hitter Shelby Gonzales, who didn't play because of a possible stress fracture in her foot. While Utter said her long-term status is up in the air, the 5-9 Gonzales was clearly a major absence in the short term Thursday.

Moses Lake responded well to its first game setback, coming out with renewed energy in game two for an early five-point bulge. Serving was the difference as the Chiefs did it well for a lead as large as 10, while Davis did it poorly, finally succumbing on a service error.

The hosts broke free from a back-and-forth third game with a 5-0 run fueled by junior libero Racyna Larsen's serving. Davis eventually tied the score at 15, but never took the lead, and a May kill ended the game.

Moses Lake continues CBL play next Tuesday at Walla Walla, a 7 p.m. start.