Nighthawks volleyball team tames Wildcats

COLTON - The Oakesdale Nighthawks volleyball team traveled to Colton and defeated the Wildcats, 3-0, on Thursday, Sept. 12. Final set scores were 25-13, 25-8 and 25-16.

Jenna Rawls and Parker Davis each had five aces for the Nighthawks, whose serving was spot on throughout the match.

"We served pretty tough today," said Oakesdale head coach McKinzie Turner. "We did a good job of hitting our spots and played really well in that regard. It was a big part of our success."

The first set started with Colton taking a 2-0 lead, but Oakesdale quickly gained momentum, tying the set at 4-4. From there, the Nighthawks controlled the court and took the 12-point set win.

To start set two, this time it was Oakesdale taking an early 3-0 lead with the Wildcats coming back to tie it 3-3.

"Our energy was high and I always look at what the responses are because we're going to make mistakes and the other team is going to force them, but how we respond to those I thought was our best as far as responding to negative situations in a positive way," said Colton head coach Nick Bates. "That's what we practice is keeping a positive attitude and keeping our energy up."

Oakesdale continued to control the match and got the set two win.

The Wildcats put up a fight for the third set, gaining a 4-1 lead and continuing to press on defense until the set was tied 11-11.

Oakesdale would gain a fairly large lead, but Colton would come back. Eventually the Nighthawks gained the set three win and the 3-0 match victory.

The teams continued to play two exhibition sets in order to get more reps in. Colton won set four 25-14 and Oakesdale won set five 15-2.

For the Nighthawks, Megan Crider led the team with 15 assists and Bradyn Henley had eighth kills, six digs and a block. For the Wildcats, Clair Moehrle and Holly Heitstuman each had two aces, Kiya Soza had six assists and Heitstuman had six digs.

"With a young team, we have great senior leadership that helps them along to give them valuable reps for the coming year and future years," Bates said.

Colton also played Dayton in an away match on Tuesday, Sept. 10. The match went to five sets, but the Wildcats eventually fell, 22-25, 25-20, 12-25, 25-20, 15-10.

Moehrle had eight aces, Soza had 17 assists, Mere Bell had two blocks and Ada Kerr had 12 digs in the match.

Oakesdale played St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse on Tuesday, Sept. 10. The Nighthawks defeated the Eagles, 3-0, with set scores of 25-10, 25-13 and 25-8.

Davis had five aces and 11 assists, Megan Crider had 11 assists, Bradyn Henley had 10 kills and five digs and Grace Perry had two blocks in the match.

"Consistency is key for us right now," Turner said. "We had three big role players graduate this last year, so a lot of new faces and young faces, so we are work on playing together and being consistent."

Oakesdale nex played their Homecoming match against Tekoa-Rosalia on Tuesday, Sept. 17, after press time. Their next match is tonight, Sept. 19, against Waitsburg.

Colton went on to play Pomeroy on Tuesday, Sept. 17, and will play St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse tonight, Thursday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m. in Colton.