Lady Vikings Fall In 3-2 Thriller

Despite winning two sets in convincing fashion, the Big Bend Community College Lady Vikings Volleyball squad was unable to get over the hump, falling to Walla Walla Community College 3-2 (25-15, 18-25, 20-25, 25-16, 7-15) for their second conference loss of the young season.

"Since last week our focus was on ourselves and cleaning up our unforced errors,'" stated a dejected Head Coach Alexa Moser. "It was a very offensive-focused week of practices, getting our hitters to terminate balls, especially in pressure situations. Throughout tonight's match, there were times where you could see that translation from practice, but moving forward we just need to be able to do it for more than one or two sets."

In the first set (25-15) of the night, the Lady Vikings executed their game plan to perfection, putting pressure on the visiting Lady Warriors from the jump, rather than waiting for them to make mistakes. Moser added that her "girls came out on fire … our passing was on … our hitters were finding open spots on the court." However, sets two (18-25) and three (20-25) proved to be a different story, as the Lady Vikings would find themselves on the wrong end of a plethora of unforced errors. The Lady Vikings would respond, however, dominating a must-win set four (25-16), much like they did to start the game. Unfortunately, set five (7-15) went the way of the Lady Warriors, solidifying the important conference win for the vistors.

Freshman Dakota Killian led the Lady Viking attack with 11 kills, hitting .323, accompanied by two  solo blocks and three block assists. Freshman Audrey Wellhausen finished with 8 kills, an ace, five digs and one solo block. Sophomore Grace Fedie went to the floor for 21 digs, followed closely by sophomore Laura Forsgren with 14 digs. Freshman Emma Lucas was key to the Lady Viking offense, finishing with 30 assists, accompanied by 12 digs.

The Lady Vikings will have little time to dwell on the loss, as they head for Oregon and Mount Hood Community College for this weekend's Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) Crossover Event, featuring tough competition from some of the better teams outside the Eastern Region. "I think we have played in more than enough games to know teams are not just going to roll over and give games to us," stated Moser. We must compete for each point individually for the entirety of the set."

Summing up their difficult start to NWAC Eastern Region play, Moser closed by saying, "It is frustrating to start 0-2 in league. But when we take a team like Walla Walla to five (sets), there are still so many good things to come from that match. We know we are capable of winning. If we just clean up a few errors here and there, the outcome of that game, as well as those remaining on our schedule, will be different."

As always, keep up with the Lady Vikings on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as through the NWACSports Network's livestream video platform, where available.