Christensens key Lady Knights' SCAC win

ROYAL CITY - In spite of a four-game victory over the Warden Cougars that evened her team's conference record at 2-2, Royal volleyball head coach Ashley Roberts wasn't too pleased on Thursday night.

"I thought they just didn't quite play as well as I'd hoped," Roberts said after the Lady Knights earned a 25-17, 26-24, 24-26, 25-15 win over the Cougars in a South Central Athletic Conference match.

"They won the game, but they tend to play down to the other team's level," she added. "I'm having a really hard time pushing them through that."

The Lady Knights pushed through the adversity thanks to some sparkling play from the Christensen trio - Olivia Christensen had seven kills and five blocks, Amber Christensen had five kills and five blocks, and Alyssa Christensen had 23 digs.

Warden, which fell to 0-3 in league play, got off to a slow start. Head coach Jeff Kottong believed that was due to lacking fundamentals in two areas - serving and passing.

"We missed serves we normally don't and we just didn't get the crisp passing that we needed," Kottong said. "You've got to control the ball when you have the opportunity. We were too inconsistent on that."

The teams battled to a 9-9 tie in game one before Amber Martinez served four consecutive Warden points. But Royal started on the comeback trail with two Tracy Iverson aces. Two Kelcy Jansen kills sparked a 9-1 Royal run to end the game.

In game two, neither side managed more than a one-point lead until Warden's Kelsey Garner spiked a kill to put the Cougars up 15-13. Leading 24-22, Warden couldn't convert a pair of game points. Another Iverson ace, followed by a Warden error, gave the Knights a 2-0 lead.

Royal looked as if it would earn the sweep, taking a big lead midway through game three. But the Cougars stormed back, eventually tying the score at 24. A Knight error and a Martinez ace gave Warden the win.

The Knights slowly took control of game four, breaking free from a 5-5 tie and never trailing again. Jansen, who had a match-high 10 kills, and Janae Anderson, who dished out 23 assists, were a big part of the final game. Senior Stephanie Bartlett also had a good night with nine kills for the Knights.

While Jansen, Bartlett and Anderson seem to be carrying the Lady Knights, Roberts said she's had difficulty getting anyone to be the team's true floor leader.

"We just had a really long talk about leaders, just the other day," she said. "It's funny, because I don't have one leader on my team. I have six players on the court that kind of lead each other."

While Roberts felt Royal played down to Warden, Kottong thought the teams were evenly matched. The Cougars are winless in SCAC play, but Kottong isn't letting that fact disappoint himself or his girls.

"I'm not concerned," he said. "We played what I'm pretty sure is the best two (SCAC) teams out of the blocks, Connell and River View. …We've got some things to work on and I think we'll be OK."

Brandi Kisler had a team-high nine kills and three blocks for Warden. Kelsey Garner had eight kills, 10 digs and served 10 for 10. Martinez was 13 for 14 serving with four aces, Amanda Martin distributed 12 assists, and Cassandra Kisler was 17 for 17 serving with two aces and 12 assists.

Both teams will continue league play next week against the Wahluke Warriors. Warden hosts Wahluke next Tuesday at 7 p.m., while Royal travels to Wahluke next Thursday at 7 p.m.