A great time to be an Othello Huskie
OTHELLO – It’s a great time to be a Huskie. An Othello red, white and black Huskie.
Three of Othello’s fall sports teams are on top or tied for the top spot in the Central Washington 2A Athletic Conference.
The Huskie volleyball team is 6-0, tied for the top spot with the Ellensburg Bulldogs.
Roger Hoell’s Huskie football team shut out Wapato to earn its sixth straight league win and remain unbeaten in league play and is tied with Ellensburg for first place.
The Huskie girls soccer team beat Selah and Wapato last week to remain in a tie with Ellensburg for league honors.
The volleyball squad earned two road victories last week, sweeping Wapato on Tuesday and duplicating that feat at East Valley on Thursday.
Wapato is winless at 0-6 in league and 0-11 over-all. So the win there was expected.
However, the victory at East Valley was a sign of a new era in Othello volleyball. The Huskies returned home with a closely contested three-game win with scores of 25-23, 27-25 and 25-22.
“It was quite a fight last night,” Othello coach Steve Parris said on Friday. “Our defense up the middle was stellar. Nikki (Martinez) and Tanaya (Andersen) did a great job of blocking, combining for 11 blocks overall. They were key.”
Martinez and Andersen had to overcome some mighty tall obstacles to get their blocks. East Valley’s front line includes two 5-11 blockers and a 6-foot outside hitter.
The Red Devils were undefeated in league play until the Huskies came to visit. East Valley owns a non-league win over Ellensburg.
The Bulldogs’ top player Tia Andaya, who had a triple-double with 14 kills, 12 assists and 10 digs against Othello, did not play against Ellensburg.
“It was a great win for us,” Parris said. “Nikki and Tanaya really frustrated the hitters from East Valley. Allie (Garza) picked up any and all balls that got by them.”
Othello has three matches remaining. The Huskies host Toppenish (0-6 in league) on Tuesday before traveling to Prosser (3-3) on Thursday and ending the season at Ellensburg (6-0) on Tuesday, Oct. 25.
The match at Ellensburg will probably be for the league title, but the Bulldogs do have a Tuesday match with East Valley and a Thursday date with Toppenish before hosting Othello.