SOAP LAKE — The Warden Cougars (2-0) volleyball team traveled to face the Soap Lake Eagles (1-1) Wednesday evening for a nonleague game. The Cougars and Eagles had a competitive matchup where Warden got ahead in the final set to win 3-1. 

“We had highs and lows, and we saw improvement in some things,” said Cougars Head Coach Katie Roylance. “It was very evident in some things we need to work on.” 

The two teams started close in the first set with the score staying even early on, but halfway through, the Cougars found momentum to gain the lead. The Eagles battled through to try and cut into the score but couldn’t close the gap and Warden claimed victory 25-19. 

Warden carried their momentum into the second set as they built a large lead over Soap Lake early on. The Eagles dug in deep to rally back late in the set where they tied the game at 24-24 and from there went on to win the set 26-24. 

Soap Lake then used their momentum from the second set to create a significant point differential between the two teams in the first half of the third set. Warden caught their stride midway through and tied the set at 20-20 and eventually claimed victory with a score of 26-24. 

From here the Cougars took stride for the fourth set as they kept strong throughout. The Eagles continued to battle to keep the game within reach, but the Cougars held their ground and took the set 25-16, winning the game 3-1. 

“The girls were able to bring themselves out of a low point,” said Roylance. “They were able to rally and pull themselves up which was great to see and I’m really loving the energy of this team, they have a real positive energy, so that’s fun.” 

The Cougars are entering this season with a bit of a younger squad than in previous years and with that comes some areas for improvement. Fortunately, she said the team has strong returners such as Hannah Roylance and Brittney Cole to lead a group of skilled freshmen. 

“They have brought so much energy and a great attitude,” said Roylance. “They’re a very athletic class, so I see them stepping up already.” 

Two of the main aspects Roylance said she wants to work with the players on is their ball movement and ability to transition quickly. 

The most important thing she wants to work on with the players is the mental game and maintaining a positive mindset throughout. As the season progresses, the Cougars coach said she expects her players to make small improvements each game and retain knowledge of the sport from each opponent. 

With a competitive win earned by the Cougars Wednesday, the Warden coach said she is excited to see what they can accomplish this season. 

“It’s going to be a fun year,” said Roylance. 

Even with a loss, Eagles Head Coach Erin Fletcher said there was a lot her team can be proud of.  

“We knew today was going to be a good matchup,” said Fletcher. “Katie’s a friend of mine which is why we asked for this matchup. It was exactly the way we thought it’d go, I knew it was going to go deep. We were hoping to get it in five and we didn’t, but it was a really good game for our kids.” 

In particular, she highlighted Soap Lake’s ability to stay competitive against a larger school 

“They are a much bigger team than us, they have really big blocks in the middle of the court, and they’re a very well coached team,” said Fletcher. “I thought we did a really nice job hanging with them. We took each game deep into the set and I think it was a really good way to start out the season.” 

Throughout the entire game, even when Soap Lake found themselves down, she said they stuck through and battled until the end. With this, she also said a good lesson for her players is not to be intimidated when playing larger teams. 

“Sometimes we don’t have a whole lot of size on our side, so we have to play within our system, and we have to play defense,” said Fletcher. “We have to be okay with the fact that there’s going to be a lot coming at us size wise and we have to sit down and be able to dig.” 

Coming out of a tight matchup against a larger school reflects their “Scrappy Soap Lake” identity, she said.  

“We kind of associate that with being an alley cat, they survive,” said the Eagles coach. “That’s what we’re going to do, we take the goods and the bads from today, we’ll put that into practice tomorrow and we’ll come back better on Friday.” 

The Eagles head on the road Friday to face Garden City Academy at 7 p.m. The Cougars have a bit of a break before they host Highland on Sept. 17 at 6:30 p.m. 

BOX SCORE 

WRDN: 25-24-26-25: 3 

SPLK: 19-26-24-16: 1 

ROSTERS 

WARDEN 

Name, Jersey 

Harper Cox, 2 

Nadia Valdez, 3 

Kenzley Claussen, 5 

Addy Garza, 7 

Ella Chamberlain, 10 

Kaleigh Secrist, 11 

Jayde Hymas, 12 

Hannah Roylance, 15 

Brittney Cole, 22 

Sara Lino, 23 

Kenzie Nelson, 25 

SOAP LAKE 

Name, Jersey 

Anastasiia Achkas, 1 

Samantha Watson, 2 

Jade Hart, 4 

Janessa Knudsen, 5 

Lily Gonzalez, 6 

Marina Zubritskiy, 7 

Lidia Rodriguez, 8 

Kourtney Herrera, 9 

Sanza Gonzalez, 10 

Nataleigh Wynn, 12

    Marina Zubritskiy from the Eagles keeps her eye on the ball and gets ready to hit it back up during the game against the Cougars Wednesday evening.
  

    Warden’s Brittney Cole responds to a Soap Lake serve to hit the ball back over the net in Wednesday’s game.
  

    Soap Lake player Janessa Knudsen steps up to serve in Wednesday’s home game against Warden.
  

    Nadia Valdez from Warden places herself to hit the ball back over to Soap Lake during Wednesday’s nonleague matchup.
  

    Eagles player Kourntey Herrera (9) hits the ball while her teammate Lily Gonzalez (6) keeps her eye on the ball Wednesday evening.