Richland bombs Moses Lake
Derrick Pacheco/Columbia Basin HeraldMoses Lake senior Shelby Gonzales records one of her team leading 25 kills during the first game loss to Richland Thursday night at Moses Lake High School.
Bombers take match in four games
MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake Chiefs dropped a heartbreaker Thursday night at the hands of the visiting Richland Bombers.
The Chiefs lost a tightly contested first game 29-27 before ultimately losing the match to Richland in four games.
Richland held a 24-23 lead late in the first game before the Chiefs stormed back to tie the match at 24-24.
Richland took a 25-24 lead over Moses Lake and the Chiefs couldn't gain momentum in the closing moments of the game as the Bombers rallied to a game one victory.
Moses Lake head coach Amy Utter said her team came to play Thursday night.
"That's a tough one to lose," she said. "We came out in that game with a lot of energy."
The Chiefs are playing solid volleyball and Utter said her team needs to focus on that.
"We had a good win on Tuesday," she said. "We tried to come out tonight and take advantage of that momentum. It's really disappointing."
Moses Lake senior Iesha Garza knew her team would respond to the first game loss.
"I didn't think it was over," she said of the game. "I knew we had to dominate the next three games."
Following their game one victory, the Bombers maintained their momentum in the second game, closing out the Chiefs 25-21 and taking a commanding 2-0 lead over Moses Lake.
With the help of senior leaders Garza and Shelby Gonzales, the Chiefs jumped out to an early lead in the third game and won 25-20 to cut the Bombers advantage to 2-1.
The senior duo took control of the Chiefs on the court, leading them to their game three win.
Garza said her team's performance showed the Chiefs what they are capable of.
"That game was almost an inspiration," she said. "It proved to us that we could play to our maximum effort."
In the end, Utter said her seniors carried the Chiefs.
"Shelby (Gonzales) was pretty amazing tonight," Utter said. "She is a competitor. She would compete in a game of marbles. Iesha (Garza) has done a great job of becoming more consistent in the stat book."
Gonzales led the Chiefs with 25 kills, 17 digs and also added three aces from the service line. Garza added 15 kills and nine digs, she also had three aces.
Senior Heidi Smith added 17 digs for Moses Lake and sophomore Markie Fancher led the Chiefs with 42 assists.
The Chiefs fought back in the match and Utter is impressed with their determination Thursday night.
"I'm really proud of them," she said. "They came back in game three and really put themselves in a position to win the match."
However, the Chiefs couldn't maintain their momentum from the victory in game three as the Bombers rallied to take the fourth and final game 25-18 and earn the Columbia Basin Big-9 victory.
Overall, Utter was proud of her team's performance.
"We had some solid passing out of the serve-receive," she said. "We missed some timely serves though. But one miss doesn't make or break the game."
After the loss, Gonzales was frustrated with the outcome.
"It's a heartbreaker," she said. "We should have won. We worked harder than them and we deserved to win."
Despite the loss, Gonzales and Garza are optimistic about the remainder of the Moses Lake season.
"A set back is only a set up for a comeback," Garza said. "It's on our T-shirts. It's only going to set us up for the next two weeks."
Gonzales said Garza is right.
"We're disappointed, not discouraged," Gonzales said. "In a way we are speechless. It's hard to describe because it's anger and frustration, but motivation and happiness."
Garza said she was encouraged by her team's performance Thursday night.
"I'm proud of those girls because we played with our hearts tonight," Garza said.
The Chiefs return to action Tuesday when they host the Kennewick Lions at Moses Lake High School.
Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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