Huskies get first win over Tigers

OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies got their first win of the season Tuesday after defeating the visiting Ephrata Tigers 3-1. Huskies head coach Steve Parris said he was glad to get their first win at home.

“We’ve needed this, and so we’re glad that it happened tonight on our home floor, and hopefully we’ll just keep moving up,” Parris said.

It was a game of momentum between the Huskies and Tigers. From the first set, the teams took turns going on small runs to score a few points. The score remained so tight that both teams were tied at 24, which led to either team needing to win by two instead of the typical score to get to 25. The Huskies would ultimately prevail 28-26.

The Tigers would respond in the second set. From the start, they led the Huskies and shut down any momentum they tried to build. The Tigers took the second set 25-15 and tied the game 1-1. Tigers head coach Britney MacLeod said that though they are a young team, they are starting to put some of the pieces together.

“We preach volleyball is a big momentum sport, so to be able to swing the energy off of one good hustle play, I think they bought into that,” MacLeod said.

The Huskies would bounce back in the third set. The Tigers battled back and forth throughout. The Huskies were able to pull away 25-21 and retake the game lead 2-1. In the fourth set, the Huskies jumped out to a steep lead, leading 23-14. However, the Tigers kept fighting.

“A lot of them are very passionate about volleyball, so for them to stay dialed and engaged in what’s happening in the moment is huge for us. When they’re really paying attention to that and kind of honing in on the heart of the game, that’s something we can utilize 100%,” MacLeod said.

Despite a late comeback attempt, the Huskies sealed the 3-1 win after taking the fourth set 25-19. Parris said he was pleased with the heart his team showed throughout the game and never wavered from a competitive Tigers team.

“Just perseverance. Both teams had chances to just fold. They stuck with it, and they kept playing hard, they went out there and they said, ‘OK, we’re going to fight no matter what it is, and even if we are struggling with certain things, we’re going to keep fighting and see what happens,’” Parris said.

Parris said after the game he was honest with his team. Despite the win, there were several aspects of the game in which he saw opportunities for improvement. He said they will work on cleaning up serving mistakes that he saw throughout the game. According to him, there were 23 missed serves against the Tigers.

“It’s taking away those unforced errors, whether it’s a third ball hit into the net that we should have had a better swing on, or that we should have just gotten over, and it’s the missed serves. Those are our two big things that we’ve got to make certain that we clean up to be competitive,” Parris said.

The Tigers return to the court today to host Grandview at 6:30 p.m.

The Huskies hit the road today to play East Valley at 6:30 p.m.

BOX SCORE:

OTHL: 28-15-25-25: 3

EPHR: 26-25-21-19: 1

    The Tigers’ Alyssa Dymarkowski (2) prepares to serve the ball against the Huskies on Tuesday. The Tigers won the second set 25-15.
  

    The Huskies’ Whitlee Hollenbeck (2) awaits the Tigers next serve. Head Coach Steve Parris said he was glad to get the team's first win at home on Tuesday.
  

    The Tigers’ Faith Rodriguez (1) communicates with her teammates before the Huskies' next serve. Head Coach Britney MacLeod said despite being a young team, they are starting to put the pieces together.
  

    The Huskies bench celebrates winning a set against the Tigers on Tuesday. Head Coach Steve Parris said his team showed perseverance on Tuesday.
  

    Alexa Peterson (15) awaits the Tigers’ next serve on Tuesday. Head Coach Steve Parris said the team plans to work on fixing some unforced errors that he saw during their game.