TVCC netters defeat Walla Walla in five
Thursday, September 24, 2009 10:53 AM PDT
Argus Observer sports staff
Ontario—Off to a 2-0 start in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges East Region is where the Treasure Valley Community College volleyball team finds itselves following a 3-2 victory over the visiting Walla Walla Warriors Wednesday in Ontario.
The Chukars are sporting an 8-3 overall mark in 2009.
“It was a great victory for us,” TVCC head coach Dennis Gill said. “I was pleased with our serve receive passing. It kept us in the match and allowed our offense to run effectively.”
The Chukars won the opening bout 25-23 but fell 25-14 in the the second match.
In the third match, the Lady Chukars bounced back with a 25-20 win, only to have the Warriors steal game four 25-22 and force the final and decisive Game 5.
In the final game, the Lady Chukars came away with a 15-8 win for the 3-2 match victory.
A multitude of missed serves allowed Walla Walla to stay with TVCC in the first game, and those missed serves allowed Walla Walla to overtake TVCC in the second game.
Game 3, was a back-and-forth battle up until Blythe Thompson came back to the service line at 13-13 and rattled off four points, capitalizing on two attack errors by Walla Walla and kills by both Rachel Wheeler and Stephanie O’Connor.
Game 4 was an up-and-down fight for both teams with Walla Walla making fewer errors.
The Chukars came out of the gates in game five with fire under their heels.
A Carolina Santana kill and two errors by Walla Walla and the Chukars were off to a 3-0 start. After a Madison Baxter kill, Walla Walla again had the ball only to make a multitude of errors and following an O’Connor kill, the Chukars took control of the match at 8-4.
Santana and O’Connor put a few more balls to the floor to bring the Chukars to a 14-6 lead.
Walla Walla made a last ditch effort to get back in the game with back-to-back kills by Nikki Long to bring the score to 14-8. TVCC Alicia Johnson finished off the match for the Chukars with a quick kill in the middle on a Casey Fitzgerald set.
Leading the team were Fitzgerald with 34 assists, O’Connor with 11 kills and 14 digs, Santana with 12 kills and 18 digs. Hailey Curtis added 8 kills and Wheeler was good for six kills.
“Our front row continues to improve with each match,” Gill said. “Santana, O’Connor and Wheeler were hitting efficiently tonight.”
TVCC will be in action again at 6 p.m. Friday as they travel to Columbia Basin in a East Region showdown.
