Devils, Lions advance in 1B district tourney

MOSES LAKE – Wilson Creek, Soap Lake and Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School all played in the second round of the 1B District 6 Tournament Thursday night, with the Devils and Lions both advancing to next week’s semi-final round at Entiat.

The No. 4 seed Devils faced off against the No. 5 seed Soap Lake Eagles to begin the tournament, with Wilson Creek earning a 3-1 win.

“The girls knew it was do-or-die, pretty much,” Wilson Creek head coach Christa Christopherson said. “You either go and play the best that you can, or you go home.”

Wilson Creek jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match, winning the first set 25-17 and the second set 25-18. The Devils were able to jump out to early leads in both sets, leading by as much as seven in Set 1 and as much as eight in Set 2.

Soap Lake managed to mount a comeback and take the third set 25-20, snatching the momentum away when the set was tied at 14.

“We had three games to play, and we are absolutely capable of beating them,” Soap Lake head coach Nicole Noble said. “But, we had to stay in it mentally. I think we’re really fairly matched with them, and so I just wanted them to see that and know that just because you’re down two it doesn’t mean it’s over.”

Now in the fourth set, the Devils and Eagles once again found themselves tied at 12. With a timeout on the floor to clean up a spill on the Soap Lake bench, the Wilson Creek side of the gym began stomping their feet and clapping their hands to the beat of “We Will Rock You,” and the Devils fed off the energy in the stands en route to a 25-18 win over Soap Lake. Wilson Creek junior Izzie Hochstatter finished the set with a kill to advance the Devils to a matchup with No. 1 seed Entiat.

“It feels great,” Christopherson said. “Now we (have) a couple of practices, and we play whoever we end up playing. Puts us in a great position.”

Noble reflected on the growth that the young Eagles team has made this season, finishing the year with a 10-8 record. She noted that four freshmen started on Thursday for Soap Lake.

“They’ve improved so much, like a phenomenal amount,” Noble said. “Some of the (athletic directors) have commented on it, just how much our team has improved and how well we’ve done this year.”

Just 20 minutes after the Eagles and Devils faced off, No. 3 seed MLCA/CCS took on No. 6 seed Pateros. The first and second sets saw similar fates, with the two squads being tied midway through the set before the Lions were able to pull away. MLCA/CCS won Set 1 25-14 and Set 2 25-19.

“That was a nice one, to get that out of the way,” MLCA/CCS head coach Dean Spurbeck said. “Now we can just keep going.”

Shaking off an early Pateros lead, the Lions dominated the third set and swept Pateros, advancing to a matchup against No. 2 seed Waterville Mansfield.

“I thought they hustled pretty well, they passed pretty well,” Spurbeck said. “That part of it was nice.”

Spurbeck noted senior Makiya Kast as a player who stood out in the win.

“It feels good,” Kast said. “I had some really good hits in the back row and front row.”

Both the Lions and Devils return to the court on Tuesday, playing in the semifinals of the 1B District 6 Tournament at Entiat. MLCA/CCS begins at 5:30 p.m. and Wilson Creek begins at 7 p.m.

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