Eagles sweep Devils in regular season finale

WILSON CREEK — Both Soap Lake and Wilson Creek closed out their regular seasons Thursday night, as the Eagles came out with a 3-0 win on the road against the Devils.

Soap Lake finished with set scores of 25-9, 25-12 and 25-20. 

“We wanted to go out and have fun, and show how we’ve come along throughout the year,” Soap Lake head coach Niki Noble said. “Do some of the things that we have been practicing – we were able to do that tonight.” 

Soap Lake opened each of the first two sets with big leads, scoring on the first eight rallies of the first set and taking an 8-2 lead through the first 10 rallies of the second set. The Eagles capitalized on Wilson Creek miscues to help build their lead. 

Confidence was key for Soap Lake to take a 2-0 advantage in the match. 

“They came out in this game with confidence, whereas against other teams, they’ve come out either too lackadaisical or scared of the other team,” Noble said. “Tonight, they just wanted to have fun. They had confidence, and they played their game.” 

Thursday’s slow start hasn’t been typical for the Devils this season, head coach Christa Christopherson said.  

“We just had a slow start,” Christopherson said. “We had been on the climb, and the girls had been playing really well, and tonight they did not play up to their expectation. They didn’t bring any energy, but I expect that to change going into districts.” 

Holding a 2-0 lead in the match, Soap Lake used the third set as live practice for some seldom-used formations. 

“Those juniors (middle hitters) have such great defense, where I haven’t had to use a libero much,” Noble said. “So, I try to do that when I can. That makes a difference, as far as connecting and knowing. Getting used to a player in that spot.” 

Wilson Creek used that to their advantage, making a comeback in the latter half of the set to cut the Eagle lead to 21-16, and later 23-19; however, Soap Lake held on for the 25-20 win. 

“I think we just lacked some communication tonight between players,” Christopherson said. “... We’ve been battling some injuries on the team, so trying to work around that has quite a challenge.” 

Eagle junior Brooke Dana led Soap Lake with 13 kills, closely followed by junior Liana Sushik with 10. Junior Mylee Dana went 23-of-23 on serves and finished the match with 23 assists. Junior Alyson Zufall had a team-high 12 digs. 

Soap Lake finished the regular season with a 12-2 record and an 8-1 mark in league matches, good enough for third in the league behind Entiat and Waterville-Mansfield. Wilson Creek finished 6-10 overall and 6-5 in league, and finished sixth in the league. 

The two teams will meet again Wednesday in the Central Washington 1B district tournament, playing a loser-out game at 5 p.m. at Entiat High School. 

“I think they just need to learn from (the loss) and not dwell on it,” Christopherson said.  

The Devils celebrated the team’s five seniors ahead of Thursday’s match, with seniors Maddie Finkbeiner, Cassie Hinen, Josie McMillan, Kea Lorenzen and Neeley Odorizzi all being honored. 

“Being able to see them learn and grow throughout the three years (as a coach) has been crazy,” Christopherson said. “They have put so much blood, sweat and tears into this program itself. They’re doing a great job leading this team.” 

Box score 

SL: 25-25-25 3 

WC: 9-12-20 0 

    Wilson Creek senior Cassie Hinen, in white, receives a serve against Soap Lake on Thursday.
  

    Soap Lake junior Sage Hart serves the ball during the third set against Wilson Creek on Thursday.
  

    Wilson Creek senior Maddie Finkbeiner (14) bumps the ball back over the net during Thursday’s match.