The Centralia volleyball team trailed heading into the fourth set and fell behind early in that set, but the Tigers rallied back to win a 19-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11 thriller to snap a three-game losing streak.
“It was absolutely amazing,” Centralia coach Marti Smith said. “I was extremely excited about this one. It was one of those games where you are fighting for every point.”
After several unforced errors in the first set, Centralia “cleaned it up” in the second, specifically on serve receive.
“We keep telling the girls that it’s gotta start with our serve receive,” Smith said. “It was stellar in the second set.”
The Tigers didn’t win the third set, but they did go on a late run that turned a 20-12 deficit into a 22-22 tie before Shelton was able to finish off the set.
Smith said that run set the tone for the fourth set, and even though the Highclimbers were able to score four of the set’s first five points, the Tigers again excelled on the defensive side to force several Shelton errors and force a fifth.
Like the fourth, the Tigers started down in the fifth, but they were able to take the lead at 9-8 and never looked back.
“It was just a complete team effort,” Smith said. “I’m just a proud coach. I was just proud of the inspiring play that we exhibited tonight to show what we can be doing.”
Smith commended several players, but none more than Ryleigh Butler.
Butler finished with 19 digs and nine kills while going 10 for 11 from the service line, and her defensive effort helped swing the tide in the Tigers favor on multiple occasions.
“She’s getting a hand on the ball and keeping plays alive,” Smith said. “She was really inspiring for us in that fourth set. She was just amazing tonight. We were really proud of her growth, and she really has proven that she can own that outside spot.”
McKenna Smith added 17 digs, six aces, and five kills on 18 for 20 serving, and Kendyl Guenther added nine kills and three aces.
Brooklyn Sprague, Ceinna Arelong, and Makenzie Erickson finished with 23 digs each, and Erickson also added three aces while missing just one of 15 serves.
At 2-3 in league play, the Tigers (5-6, 2-3 2A EvCo) are tied with Aberdeen and Black Hills for third in the EvCo standings.
Centralia will host Aberdeen on Thursday.
