Moses Lake's upset bid falls short on senior night
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Alexa Cox records one of her 19 digs against Wenatchee Thursday at Moses Lake High School.
MOSES LAKE — Compounded mistakes have hurt Moses Lake this season.
It was especially glaring on senior night against Wenatchee. The visitors used multiple long runs to sweep Moses Lake 25-13, 25-9, 25-19.
“I was really frustrated with our performance tonight,” head coach Michael DeHoog said. “We try and address the mental side of the game, which is huge in volleyball — about how we're going to approach things, how we're going to handle stress.”
The energy was there for the Chiefs early. Two straight kills and an ace by Yasmin Shateri cut the deficit to one point, 4-3.
Alexa Cox — playing her last home game — made a diving dig that ended in a kill by Gabi Rios to tie the first set at 5-all.
Cox dove across the court constantly in the first set, just getting a hand underneath the ball to keep the rally active. The senior defensive specialist finished with a team-high 19 digs.
“I wanted to win really bad,” Cox said. “We don't really have anything to lose so I just wanted to leave it all out there — last home game my senior year.”
However, Wenatchee used a 7-0 run to pull ahead 12-5 and cruise to a first set victory.
Wenatchee blitzed Moses Lake in Set 2, racing ahead 14-1. A serving error by Allison Hallberg ended the Panthers' run at 14-0.
In the third set, Wenatchee opened up a 13-7 lead before an ace by Cox and a kill by fellow senior Amy Lunderville pulled the Chiefs within four points.
Lunderville finished with 10 assists in her final home game.
“I think that we have good team chemistry and all our seniors are really close,” Cox said. “And we're really close with our younger girls, too. I think we work together well. It's just we've got to improve.”
Shateri staved off match point with a block, but a service error by Rios clinched Wenatchee's win.
Rios and Shateri led Moses Lake's attack with five kills each. Shateri added two aces.
Moses Lake finishes its regular season with road games against Eisenhower and Sunnyside.
“We hope to win the next two on the road,” Cox said. That's what we want in the long run.”