Sophomore Shae Taylor extended to tip the ball over the net on Sept. 17 against Tonasket.
Players on the Liberty Bell High School volleyball squad made the 240-mile round trip to Soap Lake worth their time, sweeping the Eagles in three games last Thursday (Sept. 19).
Coach Christine Scott was pleased to see the sweep, calling Thursday’s road victory a “building win.”
“Our game three mentality has been something we’ve been trying to break through,” Scott said. “(We need to) continue to play hard and not let up.”
The win lifted the Mountain Lions to 3-1 in preseason play.
Freshman Ellie Blank had a breakout game against Soap Lake, her coach said. Blank had four kills playing the left front-row position. Sophomore Jadyn Mitchell, middle hitter, had 12 kills and three aces on serve.
Senior McKenna Ott had two kills and an ace Thursday. Hannah Bakke, also a senior, contributed three kills and two aces.
Senior setter Hailey Damman stood out with five aces and strong defense, Scott said. Junior Gretta Eberline had three digs from the back row when she substituted for Ott.
Earlier, the Lady Lions defeated Tonasket in four games played Sept. 17 at Liberty Bell: 25-13, 25-13, 21-25 and 25-12.
Mitchell had 13 kills against Tonasket. Ott and Caitlyn Cooley had three kills each, with Bakke adding two kills.
The Lady Lions overcame Tonasket with strong defense and consistent serving, Scott said.
The Tonasket Tigers were theLady Lions’ second opponent in as many nights, with the volleyball squad going 2-0 in those back-to-back home matches. Scott said playing on consecutive nights was a good mental challenge for the team at that early point in the season.
“You can’t get this type of experience during practice,” she said. “They rose to the occasion.”
“We’re still getting in shape, mentally and physically,” Scott added.
The volleyball team has a busy week in the lead-up to league play, which starts Tuesday (Oct. 1) with a home match against Lake Roosevelt.
The Lady Lions were scheduled to play at Omak on Tuesday (Sept. 24), followed by a home match against Okanogan on Wednesday (Sept. 25). They travel to Bridgeport on Thursday (Sept. 26) and will participate in a tournament at Quincy, starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday (Sept. 28).
