Naselle volleyball ends season on high note

The Naselle girls volleyball team had some momentum heading into the state tournament, but, unfortunately, they ran into Wilbur-Creston-Keller. Winning the first set 25-18, the Comets lost three of the next four (20-25, 25-21, 16-25, 6-15) to dash their hopes of a state title. However, the girls won three straight consolation games against Northport, Wahkiakum, and Taholah to finish the tournament in seventh place.

In the loss to Wilbur-Creston-Keller, Naselle was led by Jessie Smith's 42 assists, Sophia Colombo's 28 digs, and Haylee Rose's 18 kills and eight blocks. Rose also added 11 digs, while Smith threw in 12 of her own. Other contributing stats were Brooke Davis' 11 digs and three blocks, Sadie Kilponen's six digs, and Kaitlyn Steenerson's 12 kills and six digs.

Losing the opportunity to emerge as state champions did not deter the Comets, as they continued to dig in for three more victories over the next day and a half. The first victory came last Wednesday, Nov. 12, with a three-set sweep (25-16, 25-22, 25-21) over Northport. Smith led the Comets in two categories with her 30 assists and 15 digs. Smith contributed five aces as well. Mylee Dunagan led the team in aces with seven and blocks with two. Dunagan's eight kills were second only to team-leader Rose's 10. Kilponen threw in nine digs, and Colombo added 13 of her own, along with six assists, in the victory.

The Comets were back in action Thursday, Nov. 13, facing off against Wahkiakum High School. Despite falling in the first set 21-25, Naselle rebounded in the following three (25-12, 25-16, 25-20) to take the victory. Smith led the Comets in assists with 37 and aces with seven, while Colombo led in digs with 14. Colombo also managed five assists, and Smith had nine digs to pad her stats. Dunagan, along with Steenerson, led the team in kills with 11 each. Also leading the team in blocks with four, Dunagan added four digs to beef up her overall stats. Rose had nine kills and eight digs, while Kilponen had eight digs and three aces for the Comets.

Later on Thursday, the girls played their final game of the season and took it to the limit. Falling 22-25 in the opening set to Taholah, Naselle won the second and third sets 25-16 and 25-19. Taholah staved off the loss, at least for a set, with their own 25-19 score. In the fifth and deciding set, Naselle held off Taholah 15-8 to earn seventh place in the overall tournament. Smith led the comets with 46 assists, while Rose led in kills with 15. Rose also added 11 digs, and Smith had eight digs and three kills in the victory. Colombo had 22 digs to lead the Comets, while Dunagan led the team in blocks with five. Dunagan also had 10 kills, while Emma Kragerud added nine kills and four blocks. Rounding out the leaderboard was Davis, who had a team-high four aces. Davis also added 10 digs and seven kills in the win over Taholah.