Othello holds onto final CWAC volleyball playoff spot

OTHELLO — Sometimes it’s easier to deal with the bangers teeing off on every shot than it is against the dink and dunkers throwing it into the soft spot in the defense. But the Othello Huskies dealt with it all the same in their 3-0 victory over Wapato in CWAC volleyball action Tuesday night.

Mykiah Hollenbeck finished with a match-high 10 kills and four blocks for the Huskies (5-5, 2-3 CWAC). Alyssa Hawley added six kills. Huskies setter Macy Hampton spread it around, finishing with 26 assists and four service aces. Eryn Wolfs had a couple more aces for the Huskies, who served well in their 25-18, 25-22, 25-18 victory.

“The last couple of matches Alyssa Hawley has certainly carried us on the front row. She’s a workhorse in the middle right now and doing a fantastic job,” Othello coach Steve Parris said. “We’re moving in the right direction and getting back to where we were. Tonight we had a couple of letdowns in serve receive and gave them a couple runs. But overall we’re making progress.”

Despite dropping a 3-0 decision to Selah last week, the Huskies figured out some things and are currently on a two-game run.

“We hit a rough spot in the middle of the season, but I thought we took a big step forward playing Selah last week,” Eryn Wolfs said. “We started playing with more heart and focus than we have in the past. That’s going to push us as we battle for a playoff spot.”

The Huskies are currently sixth in the CWAC standings and if districts started this week, they would be in the final playoff spot. But they have some work to do with East Valley (4-6, 3-2), Prosser (9-2, 5-0) and Ellensburg (8-1, 4-1) remaining on the regular-season schedule.

That is what made Tuesday’s match critical in a couple of ways. One, the young team with five seniors needs the momentum. Two, they just can’t afford to give anything away sitting on the bubble.

“I thought our front row was solid tonight. In general, we had more team spirit and everything clicked,” Hawley said. “I feel like our back row has progressed a lot. Our setter (Macy Hampton) is great. She works at getting everybody the ball. She was setting me a lot tonight and I was able to put some balls down.”

Othello dropped CWAC matches to Ephrata and Selah last week, but hit a nice little high spot with a 3-2 victory over Class 4A Davis on Saturday and it spring-boarded them into the week with a 2-0 run. The Huskies host East Valley on Thursday for a chance to beat the team that’s just a place ahead in the standings.

Set scores

Wapato 18 22 18

Othello 25 25 25

Highlights: Mykiah Hollenbeck 10 kills, Alyssa Hawley, 6 kills; Macy Hampton, 26 assists, four service aces; Eryn Wolfs, two service aces.