Mavs defeat West Valley 3-1

MOSES LAKE – Thursday night’s 3-1 win over West Valley (Yakima) didn’t just move Moses Lake into third place of the Columbia Basin Big 9 standings – the Mavericks defeated the Rams for the first time in their program’s history, according to head coach Krystal Trammell.

“We knew going into this what was on the line,” Trammell said. “We needed to win, that would put us in third place, and the girls really wanted to make history.” 

After dropping the first set 26-24, Moses Lake rallied to tie the match at one by defeating West Valley 25-17 in the second set. 

“We knew we needed to come out strong, and we were right in the mix, and we just made unforced errors,” Trammell said. “We’ve been doing that several times during the season; we’ll get to 22 (points), and we’ll stop. Our biggest thing is finishing – do not stop ... once they realized after that first set, we lost by two, we should have had it, they came back determined.” 

The third set came down to another hard-fought finish, with this time Moses Lake pulling off a 26-24 win to claim a 2-1 lead in the match. 

“(It was) just the mindset, just the push,” Trammell said. “They were in a zone – we were blocking, hitting, setting. Everything that we were doing we were utilizing the hitters. We had read their defense, watched film, so we knew where to go.” 

Thanks to an early lead, the Mavs began to pull away in the final set Thursday night, eventually winning the set 25-14 over West Valley. 

“They were not going to stop, they just drove it home,” Trammell said. “When we got to 20, they start to look around, and I told them, ‘You earn it. You earn every point, do not give them anything.’ When we get to 22, I look at my bench and you can see some of the girls and my coaches start to tear up, because they know that we are close.” 

Despite a missed serve with the Mavericks point away from sealing the win, junior Kardyn Martinez iced the game away with a kill to give Moses Lake a 3-1 win over the Rams. 

“The realization of what they had just done was incredible,” Trammell said.  

Moses Lake had a total of 43 blocks in Thursday’s win; 26 by Martinez, 11 by junior Lilliana Roylance and six by junior Caitlin Decubber. 

“We knew where they were going to hit,” Trammell said. "... When they’re on, blocking, it’s fun to watch.” 

Martinez led Moses Lake with 21 kills Friday night, followed by senior Makenna Stuart with 13, senior Madison Bond with nine, Decubber with eight and Roylance with seven. Martinez and Decubber posted a team-high three aces, while senior Kaelsy Wiltbank had 51 assists. 

Trammel noted the key to finishing strong down the stretch of the regular season was ‘Not letting up.’ Moses Lake travels to league-leading Wenatchee on Tuesday, then plays back-to-back non-league matches against Ephrata on Thursday and Prosser on Saturday before closing the season with a home match against Eisenhower on Oct. 29 and a road match against Eastmont on Oct. 31. 

“Watching the film and really working on us,” Trammell said. “Putting it together and being consistent, making that final push every set.” 

Box Score 

WSTV: 26-17-24-14 1 

MSLK: 24-25-25-25 3 

    Moses Lake junior Kardyn Martinez serves the ball during an Oct. 10 match against Sunnyside. Martinez had 26 of the 43 Maverick blocks Thursday against West Valley (Yakima).
  

    Moses Lake junior Caitlin Decubber tips the ball over the net during a match against Sunnyside on Oct. 10.
  

    Moses Lake sophomore Madison Witwer serves the ball during an Oct. 10 match against Sunnyside.