TUMWATER — Her height is 5-foot-4. Her leap won’t win a vertical jump contest. Some of her kills will end up short, even with getting some air, she comes at eye level to the net.
None of that mattered for Mossyrock High School’s Adyson Barrows on Wednesday night.
The senior pieced together a performance to remember.
Barrows was a maestro at the service line, a stellar tag-team partner in the back row with her classmate and laced perfectly executed kills to lead the Vikings to a 25-16, 10-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-6 triumph over Black Hills in Thurston County.
The final state line for Barrows: 19 kills, 13 aces, 20 digs and 33-of-35 serving.
“Every single ace I got the chills immediately,” Barrows stated. “It feels so amazing. Especially when my coaches are giving me my spots to serve and I’m hitting them. That makes me feel 20 million times better.”
From the first set when she unleashed three consecutive aces to the fifth when she put the Vikings (2-0) on her back.
After Black Hills scored the first point of the final set, Barrows went on a hot streak. She fired seven aces, including four in a row, in a 10-0 outburst to put them in firm control of the decisive set and complete the rally down 2-1.
“That’s why she’s first (in the rotation) so she has the opportunity to be serving more times than anyone else,” Mossyrock head coach Alex Nelson said. “It is not traditionally where (teams) start, but because she serves so strong, that’s where she is.”
Seemingly every year, the Vikings go through having to replace several starters. This season is no different, but the situations are. Not only did graduation leave some holes, so too did a pair of rotation players transferring out of the district.
Still, the expectation is and always has been contending for a state tournament berth and a trophy.
“Everyone’s like ‘Oh Mossyrock is going to be down,’ but you get their confidence up and they can make great games. That's what we’re seeing,” Nelson said. “A hustle play is more exciting than a power kill.”
Barrows and libero Taylor Schwartz are the catalysts back from last year’s group. Schwartz led the back row with 21 digs and dished out eight assists herself.
Others have followed.
Leah Contreras is back after taking a year off from volleyball and was a force at the net with eight blocks, five of them assisted, plus six kills. Kendall Cournyer also had a couple blocks and Maci Rashoff chipped in three kills.
Calliope Schultz registered 30 dimes in the victory.
“It puts our heads really high and we have to stay at that level,” Barrows said.
Mossyrock had several momentum swings. Its passing was crisp in the first set and despite dropping set No. 3, it started off with a block on the outside, middle and right side to generate an early lead.
After Black Hills (2-2) went up 19-17 in the fourth, the Vikings reeled off the final eight points generated by two Schwartz aces. Then Barrows brought them home.
“In the second and third set, we got into a slump,” Barrows stated. “We had the energy tonight and we played as a team, not four ourselves.”
The Wolves had a complete reversal from sets one and two. Their passing and serving was off to start, then found their groove to tie the match at 1-1, fully dominating the second set.
Senior setter Oralia Mike had to leave the match for a late stretch in the third set, but came back up 24-23 and a Lilly Worthen kill put Black Hills in front. Mike ended the night with 17 assists and Worthen recorded 13 kills and seven dimes of her own.
Chiara Capezio added nine kills for the Wolves, who have gone at least four sets in all four of their contests. They hit the road on Monday to take on Montesano.
For Mossyrock, it will face another Evergreen Conference opponent in Centralia next week.
“If they start believing it and they put the work in, which they are, we’ll be where we want to be,” Nelson said.
