Napavine could have kept a stranglehold on the Central 2B League’s No. 3 seed heading into the playoffs this weekend. Instead, the Tigers are now in a three-way tie with Adna and Wahkiakum for third place after losing in four (25-14, 26-28, 20-25, 28-30) to the Mules at home Tuesday.
“It was a frustrating loss but we’ve got to shake it off and move on with districts this Saturday,” Napavine coach Monica Dailey said.
Rae Sisson, Sydney Purvis and Jordan Wilson each served 100% on the night for the Tigers with Purvis adding 26 digs and 11 kills. Vannie Fagerness had a team-high 27 digs and Haily Murray finished with a team-high 13 kills and six block kills. Daily also commended Skyla Ettner for her all-around performance.
The Tigers were uncharacteristic against the Mules, committing about 40 unforced errors and missing on eight serves, when they usually only miss two or three a game, Dailey said.
“We had a lot of third-ball errors,” Dailey said. “That cost us the game. Even two less in each game and we would have won. We were hustling but it wasn’t productive hustling. We were chaotic. We weren’t playing structured volleyball.”
Now the Tigers (6-3, 6-3 league) have to hope that Toledo beats Wahkiakum on Wednesday and/or Adna (6-3, 6-3 league) loses to Winlock on Wednesday to break the three-way tie. Meanwhile, Napavine has to beat Morton-White Pass at home Wednesday during senior night to keep their No. 3-seed chances alive.
Toledo extended its win streak to three games with a straight-set victory over Rainier (25-16, 25-14, 25-15) on the road Tuesday.
Gracie Madill led the Indians with a team-high 11 digs to go with three aces. Stacie Spahr added a team-high 10 kills and two blocks, while Brynn Williams collected 15 digs and 18 assists and Rylie Pliler added 17-for-17 serving with four aces.Kate Demery tallied nine kills and five aces, while Emma Cline-Maier added nine kills and 10 assists.
Toledo coach Candace Maier said she’s pleased her team is on a roll with three consecutive wins and hopes the Indians can keep the momentum going to finish out the season.
“It feels really good,” Maier said. “In terms of playing as a team, we executed well tonight. Hopefully we keep it going.”
Toledo improves to 5-5 overall and 5-5 in league play and hosts Wahkiakum at home Wednesday. The Mules are coming off a victory over Napavine on Tuesday.
