WENATCHEE — The Wenatchee Valley College Knights defeated the Treasure Valley Chukars in volleyball Friday night, winning three games to two.
Friday night’s contest was the second victory this week for the club, both against conference opponents.
Although the team accrued six early-season losses, the team has been competitive in each match. The last home match against Spokane saw an incredible fourth set with the score going into the 30s before closing.
Their division record now sits even at 2-2 and they are looking to turn a corner. Other teams have had twice as many matches as the Knights and Head Coach Maria Adams values the time spent on the court even in a loss.
“Just having the extra reps outside of season and conference helps a ton,” Adams said.
That match with Spokane also saw starter Nadia Clark suffer a serious injury. Clark is wearing a protective boot but may be out of it as soon as next week. Adams said that Clark will be taking it slow with rehab but is hopeful that she can make it back to the court this season.
It was Hawaiian night at WVC and the opening ceremonies saw the volleyball team members honor Clark by presenting her with a different lei after each player was announced. Clark has been at Adams’ side every practice and game since becoming injured.
“She’s our assistant’s assistant,” Adams joked. “If she sees something, she says something and everyone respects her.”
The Knights were the first to score Friday and never looked back. The team stayed disciplined on anything outside the lines and gave themselves great opportunities to punish with spikes on the left side. Freshman Ashlynn Grasseth of Eastmont looked particularly dominant on the left side with 11 kills. They took game one 25-12 over the Chukars.
The team from Ontario, Oregon, regrouped in game two. It was point-for-point for a while, but the Chukars went ahead by six near the halfway point. Some service aces and self-inflicted missteps set up the Chukars to take the second set 25-14.
Game three again saw the Chukars take the lead early, obliging Adams to use a timeout with the score 4-9. This didn’t seem to stem the tide immediately but the Knights clawed back to make it 11-14. Adams was feeling pumped after sophomore Kelsey Giese capped off a long rally with a kill at the net, skipping and throwing her hands up in jubilation preceding a timeout by the Chukars.
With the momentum in their favor, the Knights dug in and soon tied it up with another kill from Grasseth to make it 19-all. The Chukars took another timeout and scored next but Wenatchee shut it down to tie it up at 20. An intense rally with blocks, digs, tricks and twists led the Knights to take the lead for the first time after a savage one-hit counter from Giese to make it 21-20. The Knights scored again before giving up four in a row to make it game point. They scored next quickly but in a blink they gave the win away with a service error smashed over the court and out to lose 25-23.
The fourth set was another back-and-forth affair, but this time the Knights came out on top. They went up four or five points a few times only to see the Chukars tie it up but eventually the Knights pulled away with a win, 25-23.
The Knights took the final game and won the match with a final score of 15-11.
The Knights have 12 games left in the regular season, all within the division. Next up is a home game Wednesday against a Yakima Valley team that is tied for first place with North Idaho and has a dozen wins already this season. The Knights have a chance to charge into third place with a win.