Taylor Gould (center) spikes the ball across the net during the Lady Blackhawks' match against Rogers.
The Cheney High volleyball team had a rollercoaster week, losing a close match to the Clarkston Bantams, 3-2, Sept. 15, then sweeping the Greater Spokane League's Rogers Pirates, 3-0, in a non-league contest, Sept. 17.
In the match against Clarkston, Cheney took a 2-1 lead after the third game, however Clarkston came back to win the last two sets. The game scores were 15-25, 26-24, 25-20, 13-25 and 13-15.
Head coach Heather Zorrozua said KD Skillingstad was hurt early in the match, which forced her to switch the lineup and have players in positions "they were not used to."
"Clarkston has some of the best defense in high school volleyball that I've seen and it frustrated our hitters," Zorrozua said. "Taylor Gould put a lot of points away and Peyton Stark set a great match, but the cards didn't fall into place."
Gould led Cheney with 18 kills and three serving aces. Stark recorded a personal best with 33 assists. On defense, Hailey Bridges led her team in digs with 14. Kristie McGourin and Marissa Peach each had three blocks.
Zorrozua said some of the factors in the loss may have been fatigue in the later sets, as well as the team's frustration in letting Clarkston score more points.
In Wednesday's practice, she challenged her players to focus on playing their game of volleyball instead of reacting to their opponents' moves. Their hard work paid off against Rogers as the Lady Blackhawks shined on offense and defense with the game scores 25-17, 25-15 and 25-11.
Peach and Pease led the match with 10 kills each. Pease also recorded three aces while Stark had 24 assists.
"I was so proud of the girls,"Zorrozua said. "Against Rogers the girls showed their mental toughness, as well as the ability to push forward. I tell them that if we show up, we can be successful,"
On defense, Pease and Alexandra Jones had six digs while McGourin and Cheyenne Marchand had two blocks each.
The Lady Blackhawks 1-1 in Great Northern league play, 2-1 overall and are tied for third place with Pullman in the league standings. They wrapped up the first round of GNL play with a road match against West Valley, Sept. 22, followed by a home match against Pullman, tonight (Sept. 24). Zorrozua said she's glad the team is hosting Pullman.
"Especially during Homecoming Week which turn out a big crowd," Zorrozua said.
Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].
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