Bulldogs in three
Montesano took control of this non-league match from the onset, cruising to a 25-19, 25-19, 25-12 win over Aberdeen at Sam Benn Gym on Thursday, Sept. 8.
“We lacked a bit of energy tonight and our passing was off. We had a few too many hitting errors. Other than that, we did what we had to do to get the job done,” Montesano head coach Debbie Gibson said.
“Debbie noted they had seven returners from last year’s team and they played very well against us tonight,” AHS head coach Doug Basler said. “We competed well, especially in the first two games. This being our first match, we had quite a few unforced errors in each of the games, we need to get rid of those.”
Jordan Spradlin led Monte with 19 kills and Shayla Floch added 11 kills. Hannah Hatcher dished out 24 assists and served up the third game’s first 13 points. She finished with four service aces, along with Josie Toyra.
Haley Farrer led Aberdeen with six kills, with Jillian Swor adding five kills and Jaylan McDaniel serving 15-of-16 attempts with two kills. Basler cited Haley Raines, who set 50-of-51 attempts and had 11 assists, and libero Tamara Corona for their overall efforts.
Montesano won the junior varsity and C Squad match in two games apiece.
On Sept. 12, Montesano traveled to Castle Rock.
Moving up in class didn’t bother Montesano’s volleyballers a bit.
Impressive in all phases of the game, the Class 1A Bulldogs needed exactly an hour to polish off Class 2A Chehalis, 25-10, 25-7, 25-20, in a non-league season volleyball opener Tuesday night (Sept. 6) at Bo Griffith Memorial Gym.
Two statistics in particular stood out in the first of three contests the reigning Evergreen 1A League champion Bulldogs have scheduled against 2A opposition.
The Bulldogs were guilty of only three hitting errors. Senior Jordan Spradlin delivered 17 kills without a single miscue, while classmate Shayla Floch added 10 kills with only one error.
After being awarded the match’s first point when the Bulldogs were out of defensive alignment, Chehalis didn’t score again on its serve until the opening point of the third set.
“We played a jamboree last week and we were a little shaky,” Monte coach Debbie Gibson said. “We had to clean some things up defensively and it showed.”
Gibson was also happy with her team’s passing as Josie Toyra and libero Josie Talley consistently got the ball to setters and hitters. Junior setter Hannah Hatcher dished out 20 assists.
“If we do that, we’ve got some hitters who can put the ball on the floor,” the Bulldog coach noted.
Chehalis was competitive only in the third set. Finding their hitting rhythm, the Bearcats were tied at 10-all before one of their seven missed serves of the set produced a side-out. Hatcher then served five straight points to put the Bulldogs in command.
Spradlin converted a Jaden Schoch set to give Monte match point at 24-18.
A Makenzie Moore kill and a rare Bulldog passing miscue kept the Bearcats alive. But Toyra put away a Hatcher set to close it out.
Spradlin had five solo blocks — including three straight in Floch’s six-point serving run that opened the second set.
Toyra brought up 19 digs, five more than teammate Talley.
Chehalis took the JV contest, 25-13, 13-25, 15-13. Montesano’s C squad prevailed, 25-19, 25-15.
