Conference Play Has Arrived

The Big Bend Lady Vikings hit the road once again, competing in the NWAC Crossover Tournament to close out their preseason. In their opening match against Chemeketa Community College, the Lady Vikes fought hard but were unable to secure the victory, falling in three closely contested sets with scores of 25-20, 25-23, and 25-23.

Despite the tough loss, Audrey Wellhausen continued to showcase her offensive prowess, leading the team with 9 kills and a hitting efficiency of .304. Wellhausen also contributed defensively with 3 block assists, making her presence felt on both sides of the net. On defense, Devry Lausch anchored the back row with 13 digs, serving as the heartbeat of the Lady Vikes' defense throughout the match. Head Coach ALexa Moser had this to say about the opening match.

"This was a frustrating match. Things weren't going well all around; ball control wasn't great, we were hitting in the negatives, we never really found our groove. We tried to switch lineups every set just to see if we could find something that worked but we never settled in. Chemeketa is a scrappy team and found a way to put balls away and we couldn't match that. The scores for each set were still very competitive which is definitely a positive to take away knowing we weren't playing near our best at all. These girls bring a lot of fight and heart every time they step on the court"

After a tough opening loss, Big Bend Community College faced a challenging opponent in Highline Community College in their second match of the NWAC Crossover Tournament. The Lady Vikes struggled to find their rhythm early, dropping the first two sets decisively by scores of 25-12 and 25-6. Despite a much-improved effort in the third set, BBCC couldn't hold off Highline, falling 25-23 and losing three straight sets for the second consecutive match.

Though the offense had a hard time getting going, Emma Lucas stepped up and led the team with 16 assists, providing a bright spot in the otherwise difficult loss. Moser had this to say.

"Again, we knew this was going to be a tough match after we just faced off with them last weekend but we knew what to expect. Unfortunately, we repeated a lot of what happened last match, a lot of unforced errors which are just easy, free points for opposing teams; missed serves, negative hitting percentages, when you play a great team like that, you can't make those simple mistakes because they capitalize on 1 those and run with it. But we turned it around in the third set and the girls fought with everything they had. They were not letting balls hit the floor, there were a lot of fun, competitive rallies and we came out on top of a lot of them. We still came up short but if we play at that competitive of a level, with that energy and mindset, we will see a lot of success this year."

Day two of the NWAC Crossover Tournament saw a rejuvenated Big Bend Community College team take the court, looking like a completely different squad. In their first match of the day, the Lady Vikes turned the tables, sweeping Olympic Community College in straight sets with scores of 25-14, 25-18, and 25-21.

With the Viking offense firing on all cylinders, Audrey Wellhausen once again led the charge with 14 kills, continuing her standout tournament performance. Olivia Louie added to the offensive onslaught, contributing 10 kills of her own. However, the true driving force behind the victory was Emma Lucas, who orchestrated the offense with precision, dishing out a season-high 40 assists to steer the Lady Vikes to victory. Heach Coach Moser had this to say.

"Saturday was a much better day for us. Set 1 against Olympic we came out with a competitive fire. From a stats standpoint, we met all our goals and the energy was great. Ball control was where we needed it to be, offensively, any hitter could put a ball away. We just found a rhythm and ran with it. In sets 2 and 3 it felt like we got a little complacent but still found a way to come out on top. This was a fun match to watch."

After cruising past Olympic Community College earlier in the day, the Big Bend Lady Vikes were not done yet as they took on Shoreline Community College. Continuing their resurgence, the Lady Vikes extended their winning streak to six straight sets, sweeping Shoreline with dominant scores of 25-19, 25-10, and 25-10.

Audrey Wellhausen once again led the charge, putting up an impressive 16 kills with a remarkable hitting efficiency of .600. She also added 3 aces to her stat line, delivering a well-rounded performance that powered the Lady Vikes to victory. Moser highlighted.

"Another fun match to be a part of. We came out with the same competitive fire where you could tell the girls controlled that match from the start. Audrey had a great night with 16 kills, hitting .600. with a couple of blocks as well as a few aces from the service line, she was unstoppable. Everyone contributed in this match which lead to a great team win."

After another solid weekend, Moser reflected by stating.

"Overall, I am happy with the weekend, all I can ask of these girls is to be a little better than what they were the day before and going 2-2 on the weekend is something to be proud of. It started out a little rocky going 0-2, getting swept in both those matches the first day but for the girls to completely turn it around and be on the other end of that day 2 shows how gritty and competitive these girls are. This group is so selfless and celebrates their teammates successes as if we just won a championship every point. That kind of energy is fun to be a part of and coach."

BBCC prepares to open thier conference schedule as they travel to Treasure Valley CC in Ontario, OR on September 19th. As always, keep up with the Vikings on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as through the NWACSports Network's livestream video platform, where available.