MLCA/CCS volleyball falls to Wilson Creek, ending season

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School (MLCA/CCS) volleyball team fell to Wilson Creek High School in a district playoff match Tuesday.

The MLCA/CCS Lions hosted the Wilson Creek Devils in a tough matchup that went all the way to five sets. Wilson Creek ended up on top by taking three sets and MLCA/CCS took two sets.

In the first set, Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School came out strong. The Lions let Wilson Creek have the first point, but quickly showed they weren’t going to let them have much more than that, with a nine-point streak before a timeout was called.

After the timeout, it was like pinball, with each team making one or two points before the other team would reciprocate it. MLCA/CCS was taking a big lead since the nine-point run got them ahead of their opponents. The score was MLCA/CCS 17 and Wilson Creek 6 before another timeout was called.

As the game went on, Wilson Creek could not seem to make up for how far they were behind in the beginning and lost the set 16-25.

In set two, Wilson Creek came back with a vengeance, flipping the tables and taking the set 25-15.

Things got heated in the third set and both teams kicked into high gear. Both teams seemed to keep pace with one another, firing points back and forth. A timeout was called, with Wilson Creek ahead by three, 14 to 11. Again the teams showed they were formidable contenders, fighting to keep up with each other. The teams kept pace with each other until the score was tied at 19 all, then MLCA/CCS pulled ahead. Set three ended with MLCA/CCS taking the victory, 25-21.

The Lions took a quick lead in set four, only a point or two ahead of the Devils. Wilson Creek caught on and tied the score at 10 all. MLCA/CCS wasn’t going to let them have it that easily and pulled ahead again. The Lions were ahead 17-13 when a timeout was called. Whatever was said during that timeout seemed to light a fire in the Devils because they immediately scored three points in a row. The Lions fought back and tried to keep the Devils at bay. However, MLCA/CCS could not seem to, and Wilson Creek took the fourth set 25-21.

With both teams holding two sets, it was the fifth and final set determining the overall victor. The final set went to only 15 points instead of 25, resulting in less leeway for mistakes. Wilson Creek came out of the gate sprinting, immediately getting a 6-2 lead over the Lions. MLCA/CCS was not ready to go out without a fight, however, and started to close the gap. The score changed 6-10, 6-13, 7-13, 7-14, 10-14 in the set, as the Lions slowly crept toward making a comeback. Despite their efforts, Wilson Creek gained the last point and took set five, 15-10. This resulted in Wilson Creek taking the match and ending the season for the MLCA/CCS Lions.

MLCA/CCS head coach Dean Spurbeck wasn’t upset about the loss.

“We hit the ball well; we’re very aggressive,” he said. “That’s how we play, and I thought we did good. We kind of died a little bit on some of our serves. That hurt us a little bit, but otherwise overall we played really well.”

Rebecca Pettingill can be reached via email at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.