Lady Lions clinch NCW league title

Moses Lake Christian sweeps Wilson Creek

MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake Christian Academy girls volleyball program capitalized on a strong team performance to capture the North Central Washington (NCW) 1B league title Thursday night.

Moses Lake Christian hosted league co-leader Wilson Creek with the NCW championship on the line.

The Lady Lions of Moses Lake Christian swept the visiting Wilson Creek Devils in three games.

Moses Lake Christian won 25-19, 25-15 and 25-18.

Moses Lake Christian senior Esther Timofeyev said she was proud of her team's effort.

"This was definitely one of our best games," she said. "We played at a higher level. Our intensity level was high for all three games."

Both teams entered Thursday night's contest with identical 9-1 NCW league records.

The only blemish on Wilson Creeks league record was a five-game marathon with Moses Lake Christian on Sept. 30.

The Lady Lions fell on the road Saturday to Thorp to set up Thursday night's championship match.

In the first game of the match, both the Lady Lions and Devils played to a 9-9 tie through 18 points and a 15-15 tie through 30 points.

As the game neared its conclusion, Moses Lake Christian took a 21-19 lead before the Lady Lions ran off four consecutive points to take game one 25-19 at home.

Moses Lake Christian maintained their momentum in game two, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead. The Devils would close the gap to 3-1 before the Lady Lions went on an 8-0 run to take a commanding 11-1 lead over Wilson Creek.

The Devils could not recover from the early deficit as the Lady Lions clawed their way to a 25-15 victory.

Wilson Creek would slow Moses Lake Christian's momentum in game three when the Devils jumped out to an early 3-1 lead.

The Devils took a 4-2 advantage over the Lady Lions through six serves before Moses Lake Christian got hot.

With Wilson Creek holding a 4-2 advantage, Moses Lake Christian scored seven consecutive points to take a 9-4 lead.

Both teams battled to a 13-13 tie midway through the third game.

Moses Lake Christian would tie the match at 15-15 before the Lady Lions scored four unanswered points to take a 19-15 lead.

Wilson Creek would close the gap to 19-18 before senior Kayleeanna Firouzi led her team to victory at the service line.

With the match and the league championship on the line, Firouzi would score on six straight serving opportunities to lift Moses Lake Christian to the 25-18 victory.

Timofeyev led the Lady Lions with six blocks, seven digs and 22 kills. Firouzi led Moses Lake Christian with 30 assists and sophomore Melissa Verhage had eight kills in the winning effort.

After the victory, Timofeyev said she was impressed with her team's communication.

"(Communication) has been our problem all year," she said. "We finally realized how important it was."

Moses Lake Christian head coach Dean Spurbeck was proud of the way his team played, especially Timofeyev.

"Esther played very well," he said. "It was probably the best game she has played all year. It is how she normally should play."

Wilson Creek has battled consistency issues all season and Ottis said he was frustrated with his team's performance.

"It's disappointing," he said. "We had a chance at the league title. I would be fibbing if I didn't tell you it is disappointing."

Wilson Creek junior Ksenje Fredere led the Devils with 10 kills. Junior Jackie Treat had 21 assists and sophomore Holly Wilson had four aces.

While the Devils left Moses Lake with a loss, Ottis found some comfort in his team's serving.

"We didn't miss a serve," he said. "That was the first time all year."

The Lady Lions have two games remaining before districts and Firouzi said her team needs maintain their momentum.

"We feel pretty confident," she said. "We have to keep playing this way."

With the league championship belonging to Moses Lake Christian, Spurbeck said his team is headed in the right direction.

"We are starting to peak near the end of the season," he said. "We are where we need to be peaking."