The Huskies defeated Central at the volleyball net 15-9, 6-15 and 15-6 Thursday night at Central.
“We won,” an excited Coach Steve Emmert said. “It felt like we won the championship.”
The win followed on the heels of a loss to Stayton 15-8 and 15-9 at home on Tuesday night.
“They just outplayed us,” Coach Emmert said. “They were huge.”
Central “was a tough match, but the kids played well,” Coach Emmert said. Some of the Huskies struggled a bit in the second game when Central took a 6-15 win.
“But overall, I felt the kids played well,” Coach Emmert said. “I was pleased. I knew we would compete with them if we played well.”
The Huskies went into the first game with an early lead.
“We had one little lull right in the middle of the game where we gave up some points,” Coach Emmert said. As a team, the Huskies kind of let down a little bit before coming back to an early lead again in the third game. In the third game, “they struggled for every point they earned.”
The team served “pretty well,” Coach Emmert said. Amanda Burcham, 11-13 and Teresa Lewis, 11-11, led in serving with three aces each.
The team is still struggling in passing, but it’s improving, with Mahria Zook, Lewis and Ashley Severns leading in passing against Central.
In attacking the ball, Kara Watkins and Zook led the Huskies with six kills each. Burcham added three kills with Elizabeth Aman and Stephanie Miller contributing two each.
Kara Howell led in blocking with four, and Severns led digs.
“(Severns) played a great back row,” Coach Emmert said. “She was 10-14 in her digs.”
“Overall, it was great,” Emmert said. The team was excited about the win with Aman commenting that it felt like winning a championship. “The kids needed the win so badly. They have worked long and hard to see a little bit of improvement. Now they’ve seen it.”
Coach Emmert hopes that excitement and morale boost will carry the Huskies into this week when they host Molalla. The Huskies face Molalla at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday.