The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

The Wahkiakum Mules volleyball team rolled through three teams to find themselves in the championship match against Colfax at the 2014 State 2B Volleyball tournament last weekend, ultimately taking second place.

The Mules met the Reardan Indians in the first round of play and won, 21-25, 25-17, 11-25, 25-18, and 15-13. The five set match was a nail biter and thanks to solid serving in set five by Kennedi LaBerge, the team was able to come back from a four point deficit to win the match.

"This match was a roller coaster ride for us," Coach Kayli Hurley said. "I think nerves were playing a big part in our less than perfect performance, but good teams find a way to win. Sheer determination and grit won the fifth set for us as we were down 9-13. We rallied for six straight points to win the match."

Baylee Olsen had 17 kills and LaBerge had six kills. Makenzie Anderson and Kaylee Bryant added five more kills apiece. Peyton Souvenir and Morgan Elliott were 100 percent from the serve line. Elliott had 28 assists and Tori Wegdahl was "stellar" at serve receive.

Later that day, the Mules faced Okanogan, the number one seed from their part of the state, according to Hurley. The Mules beat Okanogan in four hard fought sets, 25-27, 25-22, 27-25, and 26-24 and stayed in the winner's bracket.

"We came into this match with a much more positive and confident outlook." Hurley said. "Some of the nerves were gone, which helped us be more efficient overall. Okanogan had some really scrappy defense so we just had to keep the ball off the floor and keep hammering away. This was a great match offensively for us with kills and kill efficiency looking good across the board."

Olsen had 15 kills and Wegdahl had nine. Grace Peacock, LaBerge and Bryant had six kills apiece and Makenzie Anderson added five more. Elliott had 24 assists and Souvenir had 23. Hurley praised Wegdahl, Savannah Burdick and LaBerge for great defense.

On Saturday in semifinal play, the Mules faced LaConner, a team they had beaten in district play just the week before. The Mules won in three sets, 27-25, 25-23 and 25-21.

"The girls came with a fire and energy in this match that was just beautiful," Coah Hurley said. "We were firing on all cylinders from the outset."

"I made a majorly stupid line-up error in the first set that messed up our whole system," Hurley continued, "but the girls fought and clawed for every point they could and totally had my back, despite the confusion. LaConner is a really scrappy team. They have some great offense to back it up and they're well coached. The fact that we were efficient enough to win in three sets says a lot about the mindset of the girls."

Wegdahl had eight kills, Olsen and Bryant had seven each. Burdick and Wegdahl were "extremely efficient" with serve receive. Elliott and Burdick were 100 percent from the service line.

"Blocking was on in this game too," Hurley said. "Peacock added quite a few touches at the net and slowed down the ball for our defense."

In the championship game Saturday evening, the Mules met a tough Colfax team and lost in three sets, 18-25, 15-25 and 13-25.

"Going into the finals, the girls were super pumped," Hurley said. "I felt like we were in a really good place. Colfax is an extremely well rounded team with great ball control and weapons on both sides of the ball. They had a huge triple block on our middle hitters, which has been our offensive bread and butter. We had to adjust and it was difficult to get things rolling. It was not from a lack of effort. The girls worked their butts off in an effort to get back on track, it just wasn't enough."

Courtesy of Chris Johnson, East County Journal.

The Lady Mules jump for joy upon winning their semifinal to advance to the state championship.

"There was a good mix of pride and healthy disappointment in our performance after the match ended," Hurley added.

LaBerge and Bryant had five kills each. Wegdahl and Burdick had nine digs apiece and LaBerge added six more. Burdick, Souvenir, Olsen and Wegdahl were 100 percent from the service line.

"Coming into this season," Hurley said, "I knew we had potential to do great things. This group of girls has proved themselves to be quite the playoff team over the last couple of seasons. They really turn it on when it's needed. Their hard work and sheer determination got them to the championship round of the state tournament this season and I couldn't be more proud."

Elliott received the sportsmanship award for Reardan match, Anderson for the Okanogan match, and Wegdahl for the LaConner match.