Young Tigers squad shines in 3-set victory over Jacks
MIKE MAYNARD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 month, 3 weeks AGO
The Tigers celebrate after their teammates scored a point against Quincy. The Tigers defeated the Jacks 3-0 on Tuesday.
MIKE MAYNARD/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Alyssa Dymarkowski (2) sets the ball during a rally against the Jacks on Tuesday. Head Coach Britney MacLeod said the win over the Jacks was a confidence boost for the Tigers.
The Jacks celebrate after scoring a point against the Tigers on Tuesday.
The Tigers’ Navi Kaur (6), Izzlee Haney (4) and Addison Vasquez (12) prepare for the next rally against the Jacks on Tuesday. Head Coach Britney MacLeod said her team excelled at making several hustle plays.
Tigers Head Coach Britney MacLeod, left, gives Alyssa Dymarkowski (2) and Sidney Chornuk some pointers during a timeout on Tuesday.
The Tigers student section cheers on the volleyball team ahead of their next serve. The students turned out in pink to support breast cancer awareness in their game against the Jacks on Tuesday.
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers (1-8) defeated the Quincy Jacks (0-9) 3-0 on Tuesday. The Tigers were hitting all cylinders, holding the Jacks to 11 points in all three sets. Head coach Britney MacLeod said it was good to see her team get a league win Tuesday night.
“It feels really good. I hope it's a confidence booster for our kids; we have a really young squad, so for us to kind of be able to showcase a little bit that we haven't necessarily had the outcomes, but we've been working really hard on fundamentals and skills, and they did really well tonight,” she said.
The Tigers took the momentum early in set one. Their serving was effective and resulted in small scoring streaks that added up over the course of the set. Multiple times throughout, both teams went back and forth for longer rallies, but the Tigers were able to come out with the score. The Tigers won the first set 25-11 and went up 1-0 in the overall game score.
MacLeod said her team has shown a strong hustle ability all season long.
“All season, our goal is to be a hustle and defensive team. We want to be the team that runs things down. For them to stay engaged and to make sure we execute a hustle ball, that's something they've been doing really well all season,” she said.
In the second set, the Tigers continued to play fast and held the lead over the Jacks. Everyone was contributing to the Tigers' attack. Izzlee Haney benefited from her teammates' reactive defense that allowed her to put the ball down at the net for several scores in. The Tigers won the second set 25-11.
MacLeod complimented Haney’s contributions to the Tigers’ success on Tuesday.
“Izzlee’s a great leader. She's one of our captains; she definitely holds down the fort a little bit on the left side for us; she had a phenomenal night defensively. She transitioned really well, and she was putting balls away. She had a great night,” MacLeod said.
In the third set, the Tigers came out aggressively and looked to put the game away fast. They jumped out to an 8-2 lead. In what was probably the hustle play of the game, the Jacks hit the ball back over the net and floated toward the Tigers' backline. Faith Rodriguez sprinted to the backline to bump the ball back into play, and the Tigers sent the ball back over to the Jacks' side of the net and scored a point.
“It's fun to see kids go after a ball. The hardest thing as a coach to teach is effort and just passion, and to see kids not give up and just go throw their bodies on the floor to go get it, that was huge for us,” MacLeod said.
After winning the third set 25-11, the Tigers secured a 3-0 win over the Jacks.
Looking ahead, the Tigers are hoping to maintain momentum and finish their season strong, MacLeod said.
“We walk into some big matches coming up, but I think for us to be able to put together what we've been working on against some collectively strong teams is going to be a good matchup for us. We just need to show up like we did tonight,” she said.
The Jacks host East Valleyon Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The Tigers head to Ellensburg on Thursday to play against the Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m.
BOX SCORE:
EPHT: 25-25-25: 3
QNCY: 11-11-11: 0
Alyssa Dymarkowski (2) sets the ball during a rally against the Jacks on Tuesday. Head Coach Britney MacLeod said the win over the Jacks was a confidence boost for the Tigers.
The Jacks celebrate after scoring a point against the Tigers on Tuesday.
The Tigers’ Navi Kaur (6), Izzlee Haney (4) and Addison Vasquez (12) prepare for the next rally against the Jacks on Tuesday. Head Coach Britney MacLeod said her team excelled at making several hustle plays.
Tigers Head Coach Britney MacLeod, left, gives Alyssa Dymarkowski (2) and Sidney Chornuk some pointers during a timeout on Tuesday.
The Tigers student section cheers on the volleyball team ahead of their next serve. The students turned out in pink to support breast cancer awareness in their game against the Jacks on Tuesday.ARTICLES BY MIKE MAYNARD
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