MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks (3-2) fell to the Eisenhower Cadets 3-1 Thursday, despite a late rally attempt in the latter sets.  

“We just did not play our best game,” Head Coach Krystal Trammel-Walt said. “We came out flat, and we just couldn't get our offense going, our passes, closing blocks, and we were just making a lot of mental mistakes that we cannot do. Serves hurt us, passing hurt us, we just seemed to be two steps behind the majority of the night.” 

A slow start allowed the Cadets to build a commanding lead early in the first set, aiding them to a 10-point win. The Mavs rallied back in set two, giving Eisenhower a much more competitive series before ultimately dropping the second set. The Mavs' momentum from the second set carried into set three for their first set win, to make it 2-1 overall. Despite a battle to the very end, Eisenhower won set four and sealed the win.  

“When our opponents will miss a serve, great. When we go back and miss a serve, I always tell them it takes us two or three to recuperate that one we lost,” the coach said. “We work a lot on the serving and just being consistent. We knew what their defense was and where they set up to serve, receive, and so the girls were just trying to move it around a little bit more, go a little bit shorter. They were trying to be threats to exposing what we had already seen with them.” 

Set one 

The Mavs slow start in the first set allowed Eisenhower to build a 6-1 lead and forced Trammell-Walt to take an early timeout.  

“It wasn't Eisenhower; it was just seeing the girls just flat, and it's really odd and different for us not to be able to come out and get that offense going,” she said. “When I saw that, I just wanted to regroup and have them refocus, and just take that time to lock back in. I felt that that was the perfect time to do that.” 

The pause provided enough to help the Mavs come out and cut the deficit, with the Cadets leading 9-6. However, momentum was on the away team's side as they rebuilt their lead to win the first set 25-15.  

Set two 

Despite falling short in set one, the Mavericks started to rally in the second set, taking an 8-3 lead out of the gate. However, continual errors by the Mavs allowed the Cadets to climb back and tie the second set 14-14.  

Eisenhower took a narrow 19-17 lead, but the Mavericks weren’t going away as they found a way to tie the game 22-22 off a serve by Maddy Witwer. Even though Moses Lake tied the set once again 23-23, the Cadets would squeeze out the win 25-23 to go up 2-0 in the game.  

“They came out strong in that second (set), and then just some errors, too many errors, and they came back,” Trammell-Walt said.  

Set three 

Though they dropped the second set, the Mavericks found some momentum and only built on it in the third, Trammell-Walt said.  

Their hot start aided the Mavs in building a 15-5 lead over Eisenhower, showing their coach they were back to the team she recognized from previous games. Moses Lake proceeded to dominate, only allowing 12 points from the Cadets while they stormed their way to 25 to cut the game score to 2-1.  

“We were back,” the coach said. “The girls were playing like they normally do. That energy was a lot higher; things were just a lot more fluid.” 

Set four 

Eisenhower returned in the fourth set revitalized, as they jumped out to a 10-4 lead. However, the Mavericks were still in rhythm as they cut the deficit to 17-14. From there, the Cadets held varying leads of three to five points before eventually pulling away 25-21 and sealing the win 3-1.  

Despite the loss, Trammell-Walt and the Mavs are confident they can take this game as a learning experience and come back better in future games and when they see the Cadets once again later this season.  

“In years past, we would see where it would start to crumble apart,” she said. “With these girls who are so even, it’s just like 'Okay, this is what we need to do.’ They're extremely coachable. They just take in everything, and we work a lot on a higher IQ of placement of the ball and offenses, defenses, who's where, and what they need to do. There's a lot that is going through their minds, not just hit the ball anywhere – they're smart.” 

Throughout the game Thursday, the Mavericks leaned on each other and strong communication to make adjustments throughout the game, Trammell-Walt said.  

“Their insight is fantastic,” she said. “Our bench is fully involved in everything we do, whether they're on the court or not, and the girls that are on the court will look to them for help and advice. Maddy Whitwer, she steps up and she's like, ‘I'm struggling here tonight, but this is what we need to do.’ They did some self-reflection on themselves and decided, ‘Hey, we're a team, and this is the difference, and we're just going to do it.’” 

The Mavericks return to the court on Sept. 29 when they travel to Wenatchee to play the Panthers at 6:30 p.m. Their next home game is slated for Oct. 1 when they host Sunnyside at 6:30 p.m. 

BOX SCORE: 

ESWR: 25-25-12-25: 3 

MLHS: 15-23-25-21: 1 

    The Mavs’ Allison Bond (8) sets the ball for a teammate during their match against the Eisenhower Cadets on Thursday.
  

    Ella Wiltbank (2) and the Mavs cheer on their teammates against Eisenhower Thursday.
  

    Alivia Dehoog (4) and her teammates get set for Eisenhower’s next serve during their match Thursday.