‘Ups and downs’

MOSES LAKE – Entering a match against Entiat on Monday, the Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lions had posted a 10-1 record, with their lone loss coming to the Tigers earlier this season.

The match had a similar result for the Lions on Monday, falling to Entiat 3-1 after the Tigers took the first two sets.

“We were ready, but our heads were too into it,” Lion senior McKenna Meise said. “We were out there, we weren’t just playing – we were overthinking everything. We played them before and lost to them before.”

Before Monday’s loss, the Lions had won their previous eight games. All of the wins finished in sweeps.

“Winning the last couple games in a row, as a player you just got to keep your head in the game,” Meise said. “Not just think you’re above everybody else. We’re all just high school girls trying to have fun on the court.”

The Tigers jumped to an early 8-3 lead in the first set, but MLCA/CCS rallied to cut the deficit to 12-10. Entiat scored eight of the following 10 points helped by three aces by junior outside hitter Jordan Long and quelled a late comeback attempt by the Lions to win the first set 25-19.

“(Long) is their main player, so you just kind of got to concentrate on her mostly,” MLCA/CCS Head Coach Dean Spurbeck said.

After the two teams were tied at six in the second set, MLCA/CCS senior Kali Kast broke the tie with back-to-back aces for an 8-6 lead. Later on with an 11-8 lead, the Tigers rallied to tie the set at 14. Entiat managed to take a 16-14 lead and carried that lead to a 25-18 win in the second set.

“First game, you could tell we were in our heads,” Meise said. “Second game, we were getting better. By the third, we were playing like I know we can. Volleyball is just ups and downs, ups and downs. We just have to be more consistent.”

In a do-or-die set three, the Lions jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, later leading 10-5. The teams were tied at 10, 11 and 12 before MLCA/CCS scored seven of the next nine points, finishing with a strong spike by Kast. The Lions eventually took a 25-16 win in the third set, finishing off with a block.

“Coaching, 100%,” Meise said of what allowed the Lions to win the third set. “Through my career and others of us on the team, we’ve had a lot of coaches. I’ve learned a lot from my coaches in the past, but Dean has definitely helped us a ton with staying focused, staying consistent. The whole thing is he can help us and he can teach us in practice, but it’s our job to play and perform on the court.”

The fourth set saw three lead changes, with the match tied eight different times. Following a tie at 14, Entiat took a 21-18 lead. Later with a 24-22 lead, the Lions rallied to tie the match at 24. The match would be tied three more times before the Tigers led by two for a 29-27 win in the fourth set, giving Entiat a 3-1 match win.

“I loved the last game,” Spurbeck said of the team’s final set on Monday. “That’s one of the best things, it’s technically not the playoffs yet. If you can get in a game like that at the end, that’s awesome.”

With the loss, the Lions drop to 10-2 overall with a 7-2 record in the Central Washington 1B league. The Lions have only lost six sets this season, all of which came against Entiat. The Lions have four games remaining on the schedule after Tuesday night’s match on the road against Waterville-Mansfield.

“We’ve got some stuff we need to work on to get a little bit better, but overall I think things are going pretty well,” Spurbeck said.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.