Mossyrock left little doubt, as if there were any anyway, in a sweep (25-12, 25-14, 25-11) over Naselle Saturday afternoon for the 1B District 4 Championship.
Throughout league play, and the district tournament, the dominant Vikings were rarely tested, and prevailed over District 4’s top challenger in straight sets in Winlock to capture their third straight district title after winning the 2B District 4 title in 2019, and the 1B title in the COVID-19 shortened spring season last year.
We’ve been working really hard all season to get to where we are,” Vikings outside hitter Payton Torrey said. “It started in practices and playing hard. We’ve had great success, but we knew they were going to come out ready to play. It feels really good to do it again this year.”
The Vikings led for most of each and every set, and even after they fell behind in the second set, dropping their first five points, they came back to outscore the Comets 25-9 the rest of the way.
Saturday, like all season, was a showcase of Mossyrock’s versatility. The Vikings got kills from all over the floor, whether it was from Torrey, Paige Houghtelling, Hailey Brooks, or any of the rest of the girls on the floor at any given time. The Vikings setters put the balls in the right spots, and the back row dug up anything the Comets sent their way.
“We wanted to come into this tournament and play our game, and I think we’ve done that during these three games,” Vikings coach Alex Nelson said. “We’ve controlled our serves really well, our hitters are hitting with great efficiency, our setters are getting to the balls and making great defensive plays, it’s a complete team effort.
“There’s not just one girl out there that you have to stop, there’s six.”
Mossyrock should all but assuredly be a top-four seed come Seeding Sunday, tomorrow, where the Vikings hope to win their first volleyball state championship in program history.
“Every team is going to be out to get us and we have to play our best game every game,” Torrey said.
