Adna couldn’t overcome Toutle Lake’s superb passing and rock-solid consistency as the Pirates were handed a straight-set defeat (16-25, 17-25, 23-25) at home Thursday in 2B Central League action.
Coming off a five-set road victory over Class 1A Montesano on Wednesday, the Pirates were unable to keep the momentum going against a Ducks’ team that finished second in districts last season.
“Last night we put things together and were more productive,” Adna coach Wendie Dotson said. “We took too many missteps. When we did get things going, we made bad serves.”
Pirates’ senior standout Madison Fay, a first-team all-league and all-area selection last season, led Adna’s attack with a team-high 12 kills and was praised by Dotson for her defense.
Dotson also commended the performance of freshman Kendall Humphrey, who finished with five kills and also played exceptional defense.
“We’re going to key in on the positives,” Dotson said. “We’re a fairly young team. We just need to get some confidence in ourselves.”
Dotson said the Pirates need to be more consistent in their passing and put the ball away when they get opportunities, something they had just done against Montesano the night before.
“(Toutle Lake) outhusted us,” Dotson said. “They were hungrier. We’ll get better. They’re a great bunch of girls and they work hard.”
Adna (1-1 overall) gets back in action when it hosts a tournament starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Teams include Winlock, Morton-White Pass, Tenino, Naselle, Ocosta and Northwest Christian (Lacey).
