HS Volleyball: North Thurston Wins On Home Floor Over Capital

10/23/24

North Thurston Rams 3, Capital Cougars 0 (25-10, 25-20, 25-21)

(Lacey, WA) The North Thurston Rams have won 11 straight matches heading into Tuesday’s contest and have a firm grip on the PSL Nisqually division. The Capital Cougars have also had a good season and are in third in the PSL Nisqually division. They have been impressive after a 1-3 start, with a record of 6-2 in their last eight matches. North Thurston and Capital played in the second match of the season, where North Thurston won 3-0 in that match.

In the first set, North Thurston and Capital alternated points as the Rams took the lead, but Capital tied it up at one, two, and three. Abby Losey for North Thurston got a couple of kills to help North Thurston build their lead up to 8-5. Then Anna Sheeran got an ace for North Thurston to make it 10-6. Kelci Teo and Addy Conner each got kills, and Sheeran would get another ace to help North Thurston build their lead up to 15-6. Capital’s Madison Liddane got a kill for the Cougars, but North Thurston responded with an ace from Katelyn Cleland and a kill from Kaelani Adams. Abby Losey had another kill late for the Rams as North Thurston took the first set 25-10 to take a 1-0 lead on their home floor.

North Thurston would get off to a great start in the second set, going on a 9-1 run with the help of Abby Losey getting an ace, Addy Conner getting three kills and a block, and Kelci Teo getting a kill. Capital bounced back, with Madison Liddane getting a kill, sophomore Anna Vu serving tremendously, getting two aces in three serves, and Ellinor Davis getting a kill as the Cougars stormed back to make it 9-6. North Thurston would get a kill from Abby Losey and an ace from Jaeda Cruz to make it 13-8, but Capital rallied back again. The Cougars won four straight points, with Grace Williams getting a kill and back-to-back aces, and Clara Sandberg also had a kill to make it 13-12 with North Thurston leading. North Thurston bounced back, with Abby Losey getting a kill and Tiana Orffer getting two straight aces to give the Rams a four-point advantage. North Thurston had their lead grow to 23-15 when Addy Conner again got a few kills for the Rams, but again, Capital fought back with Grace Williams getting a block, Mia Matthews getting an ace, and Williams had a kill. Facing set point, Grace Williams got a kill to make it 24-20, but the Rams finished off the set with a 25-20 win.

The beginning of the third set was back and forth. Addy Conner continued her great play for North Thurston as she had multiple kills. Capital’s Grace Williams also continued her great play, earning a couple of kills and an ace, which gave Capital their first lead of the match at 4-3. Later in the set, it was tied at six when Addy Conner had back-to-back kills, and Ava Almonte had a block to give the Rams a three-point lead at 9-6. Anna Vu had another ace for Capital as she helped pull Capital to within one point at 9-8, but North Thurston responded with another kill from Addy Conner to make it 11-8 as Capital called a timeout. Grace Williams earned crucial kills for Capital to keep the Cougars within three points as Addy Conner also had kills for North Thurston as, again, the teams alternated points at 14-11. Capital battled back again to tie the match at 18, with the help of Grace Williams getting two kills, Madison Liddane getting a kill, and Anna Vu getting another ace for the Cougars. North Thurston would get kills from Addy Conner and Kelci Teo to make it 22-19, and then their lead went up to 24-19, but Capital responded with kills from Ellinor Davis and Elle Hansen. North Thurston would get the match-winning point at 25-21 to take the set and the match.

Our elisportsnetwork.com Match MVP went to North Thurston’s Addy Conner, who was able to get clutch kills down the stretch of the second and third sets and was great all night at the net for the Rams. North Thurston also had great performances from Abby Losey, who also played great at the net, Tianna Orffer, who dove multiple times to keep rallies going, which North Thurston eventually would win those points, and Katelyn Cleland was able to set up Losey and Conner in the match. Capital’s Grace Williams was spectacular for the Cougars, as was Madison Liddane, as they were both great at the net for the Cougars. Anna Vu was serving great all night for Capital, and Clara Sandberg also had a good night for Capital.

North Thurston improves to 12-1 overall and 12-0 in PSL action. The Rams will play at Peninsula on Thursday.

Capital is now 7-6 overall and 7-5 in PSL play. The Cougars will take on River Ridge at home and on Monday they host Timberline, who is in second place in the PSL Nisqually.

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