MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks (4-3) dug deep against the Sunnyside Grizzlies as they earned a competitive 3-0 at home Thursday.  

“They were anxious for the win, and we executed not the best that we wanted, but a win is a win, and they found a way no matter what,” Head Coach Krystal Trammell-Walt said.  

The Mavs started strong in the first set, controlling the game for a 25-16 win. From there, the Grizzlies showed how much fight they have as they kept it close throughout the second and third sets, forcing the Mavericks to break away late 25-20 and 25-23 for the win.  

“We enjoy playing Sunnyside, they're scrappy,” Trammell-Walt said. “They're unorthodox to anything that we're used to playing, and so we need to learn to be a little bit more aggressive. But everyone got in; we had some people that hadn't gotten in very much, and they were in tight situations. They proved they can do it, and so we're starting to show the depth that we have. It doesn't matter who is out there, in what circumstance, the team can do it regardless.” 

First set 

The Mavericks started fast, jumping out to a 10-4 lead before Sunnyside clawed their way back and cut the deficit to 13-11. From there, the combined play of Maddy Witwer, Alivia Dehoog, Allison Bond, Ella Wiltbank, Hadley Whittall and Chloe Massoth aided the Mavs to re-extend their lead to a commanding 24-14.  

The Grizzlies scored two more before the Mavs earned the set after a long rally between the two teams.  

Second set  

The Grizzlies put the Mavericks on their heels early, taking a 3-1 lead. From there, Moses Lake tied the game 7-7 off a kill by Witwer before both teams went back and forth throughout the second set.  

After scoring four straight, the Mavericks were breaking away, building a 22-16 lead. However, Sunnyside wasn’t going quietly, cutting the deficit to 24-20. Once again, Witwer came through with the set-sealing kill to put the Mavericks up 2-0 in the game. 

Third set 

The third set mirrored the second, as Sunnyside took the lead once again before Moses Lake tied it up 4-4. From there, the two teams refused to give an inch, trading one-point leads throughout the set. 

After a long battle, the game was tied 23-23 after the Grizzlies made a miraculous diving dig to keep the rally alive and score. After a Grizzlies error gave the Mavs a 24-23 lead, they earned the game sealing a 25-23 set win after Sunnyside overshot their kill attempt.  

Throughout the second and third set, the Mavericks suffered from miscues, mental errors and miscommunication which Sunnyside managed to capitalize on to remain in the game, Trammell-Walt said.  

“We let too many balls drop,” she said. “We let too many errors occur, mental errors, and we just stop talking. Once we stop talking, it doesn't help. But then they realize, ‘No, this is what we have to do,’ and then they lock back in and realize, alright, we need to be smart with our serves, smart with our passes, run that offense that we have. We had a very balanced offense, and so all our hitters got a lot of attempts, so I’m happy with that.” 

On the flip side, Trammell-Walt said it was beneficial to get her younger players involved and get experience navigating tough situations.  

“Brynlie (Ciganda), our setter – we have two setters, and she was anxious to get out there and show what she could do,” the coach said. “Everyone embraced (her), she ran a good offense and in a tight situation, 23-23, she goes back (and) she gets the ace. Then they attack her because everyone goes after setters. She let it go, and she held it together and did really well.” 

As they look ahead, the Mavericks hit the road to play AC Davis at 7 p.m. on Oct. 6. They’ll look to build some consistency going forward, the coach said.  

“Right now, we're up, we're down. We prepare the same. We try different things in practice. We worked a lot on blocking last night, and it showed tonight. These girls are so even, and they don't get down. They just stay even. We just have to learn to take it up a notch to be able to find that killer instinct,” Trammell-Walt said.  

BOX SCORE: 

SNNY: 16-20-23: 0 

MLHS: 25-25-25: 3

    Alivia Dehoog (4) soars through the air to make a serve against Sunnyside on Thursday.
  

    The Mavs’ Allison Bond (8) bumps the ball back across the net against Sunnyside Thursday.
  

    Ava Garbe (3) sets her feet ahead of Sunnyside’s next serve during their game on Thursday.