HS Volleyball: Curtis Remains Undefeated In Thrilling Four Set Match Against Camas

10/13/24

Curtis Vikings 3, Camas Papermakers 1 (25-21, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21)

(University Place, WA) The Camas Papermakers and Curtis Vikings played each other twice last year in the postseason, and Camas won both matches, 3-0. Camas and Curtis were also one and two in the latest RPI rankings, while both were two of five schools undefeated in 4A. Camas came into the match with a 10-0 record, while Curtis was 9-0. In their 19 matches, the two teams had lost a combined six sets. Camas had dropped four, and Curtis had dropped two, which came in a five-set match against Puyallup.

The match would start with both teams trading points. Ariana Medchill would get a kill for Curtis, as Camas would get points from Gabriella Thompson to take an early 4-2 lead. The Papermakers would get back-to-back blocks from Noelle Beaulieu and Quinn Pedersen to give Camas a 9-5 lead and force Curtis to call their first timeout. The Curtis timeout proved to be effective as Curtis rallied back to tie the match at 10, with Peyton Ensign and Medchill each earning kills. The match would be tied at 13 and 14 before Curtis took the lead as Elaina Duong would get an ace, and Selana Morales would get a kill to help give Curtis the lead at 18-15. Later in the set, Avery Cukjati would get an ace for Curtis, and that forced Camas to call a timeout as the Vikings lead was at 21-17. Camas rallied back to win the next three points, but after a great rally, an ace from Kennedy Kinley, and a Peyton Ensign kill, Curtis quickly had set point at 24-20. Curtis would get the first set win, 25-21.

In the second set, Curtis would get off to a good start, gaining a 4-2 lead with an ace from Elaina Duong and a block from Kayla Baker. Camas battled back with Gabriella Thompson, getting another kill for the Papermakers, and Quinn Pedersen also had a pair of kills. Camas would take the lead at 8-7, and the teams would trade points, as there were ties at seven, eight, nine, and ten before Camas would build their lead up to 14-10. Curtis rallied back to take the lead at 15-14, with Kayla Baker getting another block and Kate Harris getting a kill. Camas tied it at 15, 18, and 20 before Curtis would get back-to-back kills from Selana Morales to take a 22-20 lead. Curtis would get a 24-22 lead, but Camas would get a kill from Thompson again to force a second set point. Curtis would get the pivotal point and take the second set with a 25-23 win.

Camas had a great start to the third set, as the Papermakers had a 5-0 lead in the blink of an eye, with another kill coming from Gabriella Thompson and an ace from Quinn Pedersen, which forced Curtis to call an early timeout. Ariana Medchill and Avery Cukjati would get kills for Curtis, and Elaina Duong would get yet another ace for the Vikings, but Camas kept the lead at 9-5, with Shaylee Stephen getting a block and a kill. Curtis would pull to within one at 10-9 with the help of an Ariana Medchill kill, but Camas responded with three straight points to get up to a four-point lead again and later would get a 17-10 lead and with Quinn Pedersen getting another kill for Camas to give them the seven-point advantage. The two teams would trade points, with Gabriella Thompson and Noelle Beaulieu getting kills for the Papermakers, and Curtis would get a kill from Avery Cukjati and a block from Kayla Baker. Camas would get a 24-18 lead, but Curtis would earn back-to-back points before the Papermakers closed out the set with a 25-20 win.

In the fourth set, Camas would get off to another great start, with a 3-0 lead and a 5-2 lead, but again, the Vikings would rally back and, this time, tie the set at five apiece with Kate Harris getting an ace. Curtis would tie the fourth set at six with an Avery Cukjati kill, Kayla Baker getting a kill, and Cukjati getting an ace to build the Curtis lead up to 9-6. Curtis would get their lead up to 11-8 before Camas grabbed the lead at 12-11, as Quinn Pedersen and Gabriella Thompson each had a kill and Kendall Mairs had a block. Selana Morales would get a block to tie the match at 12, then Thompson would get a kill to give Camas the lead back before Cukjati would answer with another kill to make it 13-13. Camas would get their lead up to 16-14, but Curtis rallied back as Kayla Baker got a kill, Avery Cukjati got another ace, and Baker had another block as her play at the net was magnificent all day to give Curtis the lead at 17-16. Curtis would extend their lead up to 23-17 as Kennedy Kinley recorded another ace for the Vikings. Facing match point at 24-18, Camas scored three points in a row, with Quinn Pedersen getting a kill and a block before Kali Beaulieu got an ace to make it 24-21 as Curtis called a timeout. The Vikings timeout was effective once again, as Curtis would get the point and take the win 25-21 in four sets.

Our elisportsnetwork.com Match MVP was a tough choice as many players on both sides had great performances during the exciting match, but ultimately, the Curtis senior, Avery Cukjati, earned Match MVP honors. Her timely kills, serving, and overall play gave her the Match MVP.

Camas drops to 10-1 on the season and will take on Skyview on Tuesday. Curtis improves to 10-0 on the season and takes on Bethel on the road on Tuesday.

Click here for the full match replay (Subscription Required)

ESN Post-Match Show