KENNEWICK ?- In a match between two playoff hopefuls, the Warden Cougars were able to beat the River View Panthers in four games (25-16, 25-12, 19-25, 25-15) Tuesday to pad their lead on the fourth and final playoff spot in the South Central Athletic Conference East division.

"It was a good night for our team," head coach Dennis Treat said. "Everybody made good contributions and the girls played well."

The win improves Warden's record to 4-4 in league play and 4-6 overall. The Cougars played a solid all-around match and now hold a two-game lead over the Panthers for fourth place in the division.

Warden was reeling from two losses last week to Kiona-Benton and Kittitas so Treat was encouraged by the way his team bounced back against the Panthers, especially middle hitters Andrea Contreras and Selena Landeros.

"Last night the play of our middles was really key for us," Treat said. "They stepped up last night and gave us some improved blocking. They had some nice swings at the nets and were able to get us some important kills during the match and take some pressure off of our outside hitters."

Landeros filled the state sheet with two digs, five kills, six aces, six blocks and 16/17 serving. Contreras added two digs, five kills, six aces, six blocks and 16/17 serving.

Treat knows that for his team to be successful without a dominant hitter they must serve consistently and play solid defense.

"We have to fight and scratch for our side outs," he said. "We need to serve well, we need to serve receive well to give ourselves a good chance to try to score points. We just don't have that real dominant hitter that can change the flow of a game quickly."

Defensive specialist Emily Pruneda sparked the Cougars in the second game with 11 service points in a row. She finished with 23 digs and three aces.