YAKIMA — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors claimed an exciting victory in the first round of the WIAA State tournament against the Morton Huskies. It was a back and forth battle throughout, but the Warriors claimed a close victory in the fifth set to win 3-2. 

"A roller coaster is what it was," said Warriors Head Coach Katie Walsh.  

The Warriors started out the first set with enough energy to build a slight lead over the Huskies. Eventually Morton pushed back and claimed a 9-6 lead over ACH which then became a substantial lead as it increased to 19-9.  

The Warriors climbed back to cut the lead to 21-14 and stayed mobile to get the score to 23-17 late in the game. ACH was almost able to complete their comeback but fell 25-18. 

"They have some great power hitters and we were just letting them do what they wanted," said Walsh. "Started to get momentum at the end, but we just knew we were flat." 

In the second set, ACH got to a much faster start where they got up 5-3 early on. Even after a Morton time out, the Warriors stayed on a roll to build their lead up to 11-4. 

This momentum did not stop as the Warriors eventually put the score at 21-5 late in the game. Though the Huskies found a few more opportunities to score, ACH stayed on top of things to win 25-7. 

"We came out (ready) to play our game, take care of it all," said the coach. "We had a great match with very few errors." 

The start to the third set proved to be the closest yet as neither team got too far away from each other up until tying at 7-7. The Huskies found some openings soon after to get up 10-7 and hold their lead, but the Warriors battled to go on a run that cut things down to a one-point game at 14-13.  

ACH battled, but the Huskies extended their lead to 18-14 late in the set. Even when down, the Warriors never wavered and worked to tie up the game at 22-22, which paid off to give them a 25-22 win over Morton. 

The fourth set was a battle from the very beginning with the Huskies gaining a lead over ACH to put the game at 12-7. Persistence proved to be a friend of the Warriors all afternoon as they kept the game within range and eventually only were down two at 20-18.  

This time the Huskies found it in themselves to extend their lead and set the game into a fifth set 25-19. 

ACH fell behind by six early in the fifth set as the Huskies gained traction. Even with a lopsided score, both sides of the court, and their fanbases, never showed any sign of bringing down their energy.  

With this energy, the Warriors went on a run to tie the game 9-9. As the Warriors built their own lead and were on track to win, the Huskies came back to close the gap and tie the game at 13-13.  

The Warriors were ready for the challenge and immediately responded with back-to-back points to close out the game on a 15-13 victory in the final set and remain in the winner's bracket.  

"Down seven to one, that's not how you want to play 15 points, but I knew, like, 'Okay girls, we've had to fight all season long to earn everything we've earned and this is no different. You can do this.' And they did," said Walsh. "I'm super proud of them." 

With a few hours before their next match as they made their way deeper into the state bracket, the coach said she and the girls were excited to continue through and face even tougher opponents. 

"I believe our girls can do anything," she said. "They will outwork any team and they won't give up. We're hoping to go the distance with them and to put up a really good fight." 

The Warriors faced off against a top seeded District 6 rival, Mary Walker, at 9 p.m. Wednesday. Full coverage of the Warriors' state journey will be in the Friday edition of the Columbia Basin Herald. 

BOX SCORE: 

ACHW: 18-25-25-19-15: 3 

MRTN: 25-7-22-25-13: 2

    ACH freshman Lyndon Boyd slams the ball over the net for a point in Wednesday's game against Morton.
  

    Warriors seniors Grace Okamoto (28) and Josie Bayless (11) prepare for the incoming serve during their first game in the state tourney.
  

    Abbi Edwards, a junior for ACH, receives the sportsmanship medal from a WIAA official with Head Coach Katie Walsh applauding in the background.
  

    Allie Edwards, a freshman for the Warriors, responds to a serve from Morton during Wednesday's matchup.
  

    Dani Isaak, a senior from ACH, gets ready to serve during the tight game against Morton Wednesday afternoon.