MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake High School Mavericks (4-6) hosted the Eastmont Wildcats (3-6) Thursday evening for a matchup, but Eastmont gained the upper hand to win 3-1 over the Mavericks. Mavs Head Coach Krystal Trammell-Walt said this game, along with their past few matches, has been a great learning experience for the team. 

“We’re getting there,” said Trammell-Walt. “A lot of our varsity did not have a lot of playing time at this level. They’re doing really well because we’re seeing movement along the net with our middles, good choices, our setting, our defense, we’re running the two liberos, everyone’s contributing.” 

The first set was competitive between the two teams from the very start. Eastmont took a slight lead over MLHS early, but the Mavs quickly closed the gap and took the lead by two.

The teams traded the lead multiple times as the score remained close. After tying the game at 22-22, Eastmont gained momentum and was looking to claim the victory, but MLHS came back to tie the game at 24-24. 

The tenacity the Mavs showed to tie the game continued through the last part of the set where they won 29-27. 

“We came out in that first set on fire,” said Trammell-Walt. “Our blocks, we knew from watching film who was going to hit where, so we had a special defense. We contained them and we were scrappy and we went for the win.” 

Eastmont got ahead early in the second set, 10-3, but Moses Lake cut the gap to 10-9 through solid serves by Ava Garbe. The Wildcats reextended their lead, getting up 18-10.  

The Mavs worked to readjust but couldn’t get back into the groove and fell 25-11 for the second set. 

Moses Lake had a slow start to set three, and Eastmont took advantage to create a 15-3 lead. While the Mavs fought hard to get back into the game but ultimately fell 25-8. 

“Second and third set we just had a meltdown, we couldn’t pass the ball,” said Trammell-Walt. 

After another rough start in the fourth set, the Mavs rallied their way back into the game midway through to cut the deficit 17-15, which led to an Eastmont timeout. The Mavs had high energy through the last half of the set, but Eastmont claimed the set 25-18 for a 3-1 victory. 

“Fourth set we started to come back and we just didn’t have enough to make it go five,” said Trammell-Walt. 

Moses Lake senior Maddy Witwer led the team offensively with eight kills, followed by junior Allison bond with six and Chloe Massoth with five. Garbe’s solid serving earned her three aces Thursday. 

Despite not closing out the fourth set, the coach said she was very happy with the drive the girls showed on the court and how they took initiative to bounce back. Each day the Mavs come up with a new quote to run with, and the one on their mind heading into Thursday was “action” which they looked to apply after being down in the fourth set. 

“No more talk, put into action what it is that we need to do,” she said. “When we were in our timeouts, we’re talking about those forced errors, things like that we don’t need to make.” 

An important highlight for the Mavs during Thursday’s matchup was the opportunity for everyone on the varsity lineup to get court time. Getting each of the younger girls playing time on the court in a competitive match is key to building the program into the future, said Trammell-Walt. 

That future might not be for upcoming seasons, but for games within the current year. The coach said one instance of a younger player stepping up this season was when sophomore Brynlie Ciganda was fully prepared to step in for junior Allison Bond while she was out on injury. 

“Seeing that we’re able to make subs and there’s not a big lull, (that’s why) it’s so important for them to get playing time,” she said. 

Throughout the season, the young squad has been very focused on where they can improve, which has been great for their development, said Trammell-Walt. 

“They thrive on being told what to do,” said the coach. “They did really well; they played better (Thursday) than what we saw on Tuesday night against Davis. We saw a different team and I thought that was great – they needed that.” 

Heading deeper into the season, Trammell-Walt said she wants the team to come out strong like they did Thursday but learn to maintain that energy through the whole match. Finding consistency throughout the set will be crucial for Moses Lake moving forward. 

“When we get into a valley and we’re not able to pass the ball or get our offense going, what is it that we can do,” she said. “We need to stop; we need to go one point at a time and just go back to the fundamentals.” 

What has been very important to the coach is the amount of improvement she has seen across the board for the Mavericks. 

“We’re seeing really good things and from what we started in June to where we’re at now, they’ve come a long way,” said Trammell-Walt. “I love to see their excitement and their confidence and so our takeaway is to continue doing what we need to do for that confidence.” 

The Mavs head on the road Tuesday to face Eisenhower at 7 p.m. 

BOX SCORE 

ESMT: 27-25-25-25: 3 

MLHS: 29-11-8-18: 1 

    Allison Bond, a junior from the Mavericks, gets ready to set the ball for her teammates against Eastmont.
  

    MLHS junior Ava Garbe steps up to serve against Eastmont Thursday evening.
  

    Alivia Dehoog, a junior from the Mavs, connects with the ball in the middle of the court during Thursday’s game.
  

    Moses Lake junior Ella Wiltbank prepares for the incoming serve from Eastmont Thursday evening.
  

    Brynlie Ciganda, a sophomore for MLHS, responds quickly to hit the ball back up in the air Thursday against Eastmont.