Walla Walla whacks Big Bend 3-0
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin HeraldBig Bend outside hitter Hailey Miller from Ephrata tees off on a ball during the first set of Wednesday night's NWAC East match with Walla Walla Community College.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin HeraldBig Bend setter Savannah Bass (11) scrambles for a dig during the second set of Wednesday night's NWAC East match with Walla Walla Community College. The Warriors won in three sets.
MOSES LAKE — Once it started going south, it spiraled out of control in a hurry in Big Bend’s 3-0 loss to Walla Walla Community College Wednesday night at DeVries Activities Center.
It had that vibe from the warm-ups on and the Vikings’ 25-11, 25-4, 25-9 loss reinforced where they are at this point in the season.
The Warriors (17-12, 2-2 NWAC East) rolled into town currently sixth in the NWAC East standings, but they turned it up a notch from the opening whistle, leading 14-5 in the opening set. The Vikings (0-16, 0-5) scored just 13 points combined in the next two sets.
“I feel like we’re making progress, but this game we were just off,” said middle blocker JoAndra Wilson from Lapwai, Idaho. “Walla Walla is really good, especially their front row. We just didn’t come out with confidence. I don’t know what it is. We’ve been up and down with our confidence all season and it shows on nights like tonight.”
The Warriors front row was aggressive with both its attack and on the block. Middle blocker Emmah Peterson (6-foot-1) and Cheyan James (6-0) were a force in the middle. Ocean Bryan finished with a match-high 11 kills. Ashlin Orosco and Lindsey Carpenter added nine kills apiece.
“We need to believe in ourselves and keep our energy up all the time,” said Ryana Recustodio, a 5-6 outside hitter from Kodiak, Alaska. “Walla Walla was really good with their blocks, but we had some success with angles and soft stuff. They weren’t intimidating. We just have a mental barrier and we play much better when we can keep our energy level up.”
Madison Powers went into the match as the Vikings’ leading hitter with 47 kills. Wilson (37) and Recustodio (25) are second and third, respectively. But the Warriors had the Vikings in scramble mode all night and Big Bend never really had a chance to run the offense, falling behind 20-4 in the second set and 23-8 in the third.
“We just need to keep working to get where we need to be,” Wilson said. “If we can keep playing with confidence, we’ll get there.”
Big Bend travels to Spokane on Friday and returns home to take on NWAC East-leading Columbia Basin College on Oct. 4.