Gar-Pal volleyball rolls through Homecoming

PALOUSE - Celebrating its Homecoming volleyball victory against the St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse (SJEL) Eagles on Tuesday, Oct. 8, the Garfield-Palouse (Gar-Pal) Vikings continue to dominate the court.

Gar-Pal defeated the Eagles, 3-0, with set scores of 25-9, 27-25, 25-20. The Vikings haven't lost a set since a hard-fought 3-2 win against the Pomeroy Pirates on Thursday, Sept. 26.

"It's the hard work these girls are putting in and their drive to win," said Gar-Pal coach Genna Bessey. "They want it. They want to walk out of the gym and be successful and victorious every time."

The match started with an ace by SJEL setter Sophie Anderson. A kill by Gar-Pal junior Clare Bowechop, assisted by junior Elena Flansburg tied the match. The Vikings tied the match again at 2-2 with a tip kill by Flansburg, assisted by sophomore Kaylee Kimble.

The Vikings kept attacking, and the Eagles kept digging before Gar-Pal gained another point after four volleys. Flansburg gained an ace on the next play and the Viking began to run away with the score. Aces by Kimble and senior Iris Turner helped the Vikings gain a commanding 21-9 lead.

Set one ended with three aces out of four plays by junior setter Morgan Lentz and the Vikings won set one, 25-9.

"As a coach, this is an awesome team because we have so many options and so many variations we can run," Bessey said. "These girls work really hard to be able to play in any position. We have multiple girls that can set the ball besides the two main setters. We've got two great middles, we've got two great outsides, we've got threats on the right side, we've got one on the bench that can play in any of those positions."

Set two was an entirely different game, needing extra points to decide the set.

The Eagles struck first again in set two with a kill by middle hitter Kate Hergert, assisted by Anderson. Gar-Pal quickly recovered and tied the set at 7-7 on a block kill by Flansburg and an ace by Kimble.

The Vikings gained a 15-9 lead on two aces by sophomore Kyra Brantner and a kill by Bowechop. A big block kill by Flansburg helped the Vikings secure a 17-11 lead.

The Eagles slowly began to come back with aces by Avery Fleming and Hergert, along with kills by Chloe Waddell and Vanessa Webb. After making some big saves on the volley, the Eagles tied the set, 24-24.

In a heated battle to the end, SJEL gained the one-point advantage, but the Vikings won the next three points and won the match, 27-25.

"We've had our ups and downs here and there but they're focused," Bessey said. "They want to see us make that postseason happen. We've been an underdog team for so many years, they've worked really hard to be more confident in themselves."

Set three began with the Vikings taking a 5-0 lead, one of them a block kill by Flansburg. The Eagles regrouped and lessened the deficit, bringing the score to 15-13 in favor of Gar-Pal.

An SJEL ace by Flemming kept the score close, but Gar-Pal fired back with an ace by Turner. Lentz gained two kills at the end of the match and the Vikings won their Homecoming night, with a set-three score of 25-20.

"After that second game was so close they pulled it together and played an excellent third game," Bessey said. "They didn't let down, they didn't quit, they refocused and let everything that happened before go and played that game like it was the only game."

Bowechop led the Vikings with 18 kills, Kimble had 18 assists and Lentz had an all-around match with 10 assists, eight digs and three aces. Brantner added seven kills and Turner had three aces with Molly Huffman and Hailey Beckner each getting one block.

The Vikings went on to defeat the Dayton Bulldogs, 3-0, on Thursday, Oct. 10. Set scores were 25-22, 25-19 and 25-17.

Gar-Pal moves to 8-1 on the season with the only loss coming from a 3-0 decision to Oakesdale. The Vikings next played the Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolvies on Tuesday, Oct. 15, after press time.

Next up for the Vikings will be an away match against Colton today, Thursday, Oct. 17. The team returns home on Tuesday, Oct. 22, with a match against Pomeroy.