Othello knocks off Wapato

Lady Huskies advance to playoffs

OTHELLO— The Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) 2A girls' volleyball playoffs continued Saturday night as the Othello Lady Huskies hosted the Wapato Wolves in a loser-out contest.

Othello capitalized on home-court advantage to win the match three games to two games.

The Lady Huskies won the first two games 25-15 and 25-16 before the Wolves took control of the court, winning game three 25-23 and game four 25-21.

While neither team wanted their season to end Saturday night, the Lady Huskies prevailed. Othello rallied to win the final game 15-6 and eliminate Wapato 3-2.

In the first game of the match, the Lady Huskies were led by senior Kylee Mollotte and jumped out to an early lead.

Mollotte recorded several aces and provide solid defense at the net as Othello dominates the Wolves for a 25-15 win.

Othello maintained their momentum in the second game as the girls from Othello distanced themselves from Wapato 25-16 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

With the Lady Huskies winning the first two games of the match, the third game was a turning point for Wapato. In what looked to be a three-game sweep of Wapato, the Wolves rallied.

Wapato took to the court in game three determined to win and it showed as the Wolves ran up a 17-7 advantage before Othello could claw their way back into the game.

Wapato stalled at 17-7, allowing Othello to score seven unanswered-points, closing the gap to 17-14.

As Othello narrowed the gap, both teams engaged in a point-for-point battle to a 23-23 tie before Wapato was able to close out the game with a 25-23 victory.

Wapato carried their momentum into the fourth game, winning the game 25-21 and forcing Othello into a fifth and deciding game with the CWAC playoffs on the line.

Tensions were high as the first-to-15 final game began.

Othello scored first before Wapato came back after a long volley, scoring for the first time.

With their season on the line, the Lady Huskies got hot and took control of the court and defeated Wapato 15-6 to earn a 3-2 victory.

Othello head coach Steve Parris said he knew Saturday's match wasn't going to be an easy victory.

"We struggled at the start of game three, it gave (Wapato) confidence," Parris said.

With the victory and third seeding, The Lady Huskies travel to East Valley to begin a double-elimination tournament against a Red Devils team Parris and Othello have faced before.

"It's a team we can beat, we've done it five times," Parris said. "It all depends on how we play."

Justine Villarreal led Othello with 34 assists and five aces while Allison Walker recorded 25 Kills and 16 digs. Mollotte also added 13 kills and 14 digs.