Wahluke wins match against Royal
Kayla Smith of Royal, right, gets a shot past the blocking effort of Kassandra Villalobos of Wahluke, but Villalobos had a big night to lead her team to a five-game win.
ROYAL CITY - Wahluke defeated Royal in high school volleyball last week in a contest that should have been pleasing to fans of both sides.
The Warriors and Knights gave it all they had. They competed hard for every point in a contest that went five grueling games.
The visitors from Wahluke took the first two games, 25-22 and 28-26, and needed only one more to take the match. But Royal didn't give in, winning the next two games, 25-21 and 25-21. Wahluke prevailed, 15-12, in the fifth game.
"I am happy the girls were able to pull off the win," said a relieved Wahluke coach Rudi Christian."
"Great match to watch," Royal coach Paul Olsufka said. "The girls did a great job of rallying back from two down to send it to a fifth game. We missed out on some opportunities to take game two. It sure wasn't for lack of effort on the girls' part. They gave their all."
The Wahluke girls were led by the up-front trio of Marleny Garcia, Kassandra Villalobos and Tanya Mendez. Garcia had 12 kills, and Villalobos and Mendez had seven each.
Villalobos had three blocks and 15 digs. Mendez had 25-27 serving with seven aces. Maripaz Olivarez had 15 digs, and Liliana Ramirez had 19 digs
Royal's offensive leader at the net was Katie Ellis with 10 kills. She also had six digs on defense.
Kayla Smith was all over the floor with 26-28 serving, 2 aces, 11 digs, 3 blocks and 3 kills. Tahlia Ledezma had 18-18 serving, 1 ace, 5 digs, 23 assists and 1 kill.
Rebecca Lee had 3 digs. Morgan Small had 16-17 serving, 3 aces 9 digs, and 3 kills. Seila Jenks had 10 digs, 2 blocks and 3 kills, and Tonya Iverson had 16-18 serving, 2 aces, 9 digs and 9 kills.
Later in the week, Royal found some success at the Zillah Invitational. The Knights knocked off River View, 25-14, 25-12, to take the season series from the Panthers, two games to one.