HS Volleyball: Washougal Starts Season With Sweep of WF West

9/9/24

Washougal 3, WF West 0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-18)

(Chehalis, WA) Volleyball officially began in the state of Washington last Friday as WF West opened their season with a 3-1 win over Rochester on Friday night in a nonleague game. For Washougal, their first match would take place on Monday night as they visited the Bearcats for their season opener.

After taking fourth in the GSHL 2A last season, the Panthers would look to build upon that to make a deeper run in the district tournament and a match with a district foe would give them a great litmus test to begin the year. For the Bearcats, they missed out on the district tournament last season and will look to erase that memory in 2024.

Both sides struggled out of the gate to get any momentum going. They traded points until aces by Lucy Albaugh and Saige Trask gave Washougal some breathing room. That would be where the Panthers did a bulk of their damage. Two more aces by Kayla Deziel continued to build that lead as WF West struggled to take advantage of some great digs by Ashley Mueller. The Washougal libero Kali Buchanan served five consecutive points with a nice pass over by Deziel helping out in that stretch. The Panthers relentless pressure broke down WF West as Washougal took the opening set 25-11.

In the second set, Washougal got off to a roaring start with Kayla Deziel serving the first three points of the set to give them a 3-0 advantage. After working their lead up to 7-2, Washougal then had to survive a wave of momentum coming from WF West. The Bearcats went on a tremendous run with Marley McGreal at the service line. The senior had two aces but that was just the beginning of the story. Everyone for WF West went on a run including Addison Adams, Paige Duncan, and Addi Froschauer at the net. The Bearcats scored nine consecutive points to give WF West an 11-7 lead in the set.

After taking a timeout, Washougal began to regroup after the Bearcat barrage. Lucy Albaugh answered with seven consecutive points served for Washougal including three more aces for the Panthers. That stretch that included Albaugh doing damage at the net as well as Ainsley Prynne and Madeline Prynne brought Washougal back to take a 16-14 lead. The Panthers then scored nine of the next ten points with three more aces from Kayla Deziel to take the second set 25-15.

Looking to avoid the sweep, the Bearcats found themselves in an early 5-1 hole in the third set. Instead of just one big charge, WF West chipped away at the deficit as they had five consecutive servers serve a point for the Bearcats, including Arianna Wheaton, Marley McGreal, Addison Adams, and Grace Simpson. Jaden Jensen would be the fifth and she went on a run after earning the Bearcats a point with a nice pass over. Jensen served four points in a row including an ace to give WF West a 14-9 lead.

Once again the Washougal Panthers responded nicely. Kali Buchanan led a strong charge from the Panthers as they got momentum back on their side. A big block by Iris Hancock turned a spark into an inferno for Washougal and gave them an 18-17 lead. Then Kayla Deziel put the finishing touches on this one from the line. Deziel served six points in a row for the Panthers with two more aces included. Washougal would have 18 aces in the match compared to just 5 for WF West. That was the difference as Washougal completed the sweep by winning the third and final set 25-18.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the match was Kayla Deziel for Washougal. The senior had seven of the Panthers 18 aces while also doing a great job in the middle assisting on numerous kills for the Panther front line. It was a great team effort by Washougal, but Deziel stepped up every single time her number was called whether it be from the service line or at her setter position.

Washougal starts the season 1-0 and will not get to celebrate for too long. They will take the court again on Tuesday for their home opener against Stevenson at 7pm. WF West drops to 1-1 and they too will play again on Tuesday when they hit the road to take on Elma at 6:30pm

You can watch the entire match by visiting the link below. (Subscription Required)

Washougal vs. WF West (Volleyball)