SOAP LAKE – The Soap Lake Eagles stretched their winning streak to four games on Thursday night, defeating Thorp in a sweep.

Soap Lake improved to 8-5 with the win, including 7-3 in league play.

“This is the tail end of our season, so being to put wins on the board and stay in the similar ranking as we have been all season is pretty motivating for these girls,” Soap Lake head coach Nicole Noble said.

The Eagles took the first set in dominant fashion, winning 25-8 over the visiting Tigers. Noble said that the team had six freshmen play Thursday night, hoping to garner experience in the team for the coming years.

“I want to start building some confidence in those younger girls that have worked hard and deserve a chance,” Noble said. “They’re the ones that have been to every practice, have worked really hard, stayed positive with their team when they’re playing on JV.”

Freshman Tanya Zubristskiy put up the first two points for Soap Lake on back-to-back aces to start the second set. Thorp came back to cut the deficit to 6-5, but Soap Lake was able to pull away as the set went on. Leading 23-14, freshman Liana Sushik aced and the Eagles scored on a short serve by Thorp for a 25-15 win in the second set.

“We still have to focus,” Noble said. “In that next game, they weren’t playing as hard. One of our goals has been to play as hard as we can in every game, not let the other team set the pace.”

The third set saw Thorp come out in competitive fashion, fighting back and forth to a 12-12 tie. Soap Lake then outscored Thorp nine to one over the next 10 volleys, highlighted by senior Emily Stevens’ five-straight aces. Down 21-13, Thorp called a timeout but was unable to regain control in the set, losing 25-16 and giving the Eagles a sweep win.

“It felt so good,” Stevens said. “I was pumped, so stoked. I was exhausted when they called that timeout, I stood in front of the fan to cool off a bit, and maybe that’s what did in that last serve for me – making it too short.”

Noble said that the winning streak will help the team down the stretch, as three of their next four opponents all have winning records as of Thursday night.

“Playing Pateros on Monday, that was a big one,” Noble said. “I wanted them to see that they could do it, we saw them early in the season for a non-league game, and then we saw them at the tournament and lost both times. So, I really wanted them to see how much they’ve grown and that they can finish it out.”

Soap Lake will once again face Thorp on Monday, this time on the road. The match begins at 6 p.m.

Ian Bivona may be reached at [email protected].