Ellensburg fends off Othello

OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies held off a tough Ellensburg team in game one Tuesday night, but the Bulldogs stormed back to take the Central Washington Athletic Conference volleyball contest with a 3-1 victory.

Othello took control of the conference matchup early when the Huskies stormed back from a 12-8 deficit in game one to pull even at 19-19.

While the Huskies went on an 11-7 run to tie the game, the Bulldogs responded by reclaiming the lead at 20-19.

Although Ellensburg seemed to stay one step ahead of Othello late in game one, the Huskies persevered.

Othello tied the game at 20-20, 21-21 and again at 22-22 before scoring on the ensuing serve to take their first lead since they led 5-4.

The Huskies took the lead late when junior Natilee Ruiz blocked an Ellensburg kill attempt at the net.

Yvonne Garza followed Ruiz’s block at the net with an ace from the service line to give the Huskies a 24-22 lead.

The Bulldogs answered with the game’s next point before Ruiz spiked the ball over the net, forcing an an Ellensburg error, giving the Huskies a 25-23 game one victory.

Othello head coach Dean Spurbeck said his team played well in their game-one victory.

“We actually got some good passes and we hit the ball real well,” he said. “Our serving was a huge difference. It gave us some easy balls to work with.”

While Othello rallied for a comeback in game one, the Huskies struggled to get out of the starting blocks in game two.

The visiting Bulldogs recovered from their game-one defeat and came back to score the first four points in game two to take the early advantage.

Ellensburg continued to put the pressure on Othello in game two. The Bulldogs kept their distance from the Huskies throughout game two, taking a 19-8 lead at one point before rolling to a 25-15 victory.

The Bulldogs continued to put the pressure on Othello through games three and four to earn the 3-1 victory. Ellensburg held off the Huskies 25-21 in game three before taking game four and the match 25-17.

While Ellensburg won three straight games to take the conference contest, Spurbeck was encouraged with how his team performed.

“We can definitely hang with them,” Spurbeck said. “We had a passing lapse.”

Othello senior Kylee Mollotte led the Huskies with 17 kills Tuesday night and Spurbeck said his senior showed signs of improvement in the loss.

“Kylee finally caught the angles I wanted her to,” he said. “For the first time, she did very well. If she can do it the rest of the games, it is going to be fun for us. She had a good game.”

Mollotte also added 12 digs and three blocks.

Fellow senior Jody Walker had 12 digs and three kills and senior Eden Garza had 10 digs.