Marti Smith may have felt a bit flipped-turned upside-down at times Tuesday, but her Centralia volleyball team figured things out in the nick of time to come away with a 25-23, 25-22, 25-15 sweep of Rochester in 2A EvCo play.
“We talked pregame about getting out to a fast start,” Smith said. “They must have thought it was opposite day, because we did the exact opposite in all three sets.”
Instead, the Tigers (6-4, 4-4 2A EvCo) dug themselves into early holes, logging 13 errors in each of the first two sets to fall behind.
“We were pretty darn lucky that we were able to pull out the first two sets like we did,” Smith said. “But I will say I’m proud of the way the girls responded. They didn’t give up, even when we got in the hole.”
Lauren Wasson led Centralia all over the statsheet, with a team-high 15 digs, nine kills and four aces.
Behind her, Makayla Chavez put down seven kills in another solid outing. Joining her in the middle, junior Payton Baumel had one of her better matches, with six kills and three blocks.
“She’s been steadily improving all season long, and she’s starting to take more control up there and play with more confidence,” Smith said.
Alongside Wasson at the pin, junior Hollynn Wakefield added five kills of her own.
“We knew what she can do as an outside hitter, and tonight she played way more relaxed and just allowed herself to have some fun on the outside,” Smith said. “She swung really well.”
Gracie Schofield had 13 digs at the back. McKenna Smith added nine digs, four kills and three aces, and teamed up with Selah Calkins to dish out 35 assists.
On the Rochester side of things, Delany Winter had six kills, two blocks and two aces, while Lexi Dupont had four aces, two blocks and two kills.
“They’re getting there, for sure,” Rochester coach Bridget Morris said. “We definitely played one of our better games tonight, we’ve just got to find a way to win them.”
Centralia will head to Shelton to take on the Highclimbers on Thursday. The Warriors (0-12, 0-8 2A EvCo) will be off the rest of the week before getting a Monday matchup against Aberdeen.
