Gar-Pal volleyball ready for postseason

PALOUSE - Finishing the regular season with a 13-2 record, the Garfield-Palouse (Gar-Pal) Vikings placed second in the Southeast 1B League and will move on to the postseason.

The Vikings got a 3-0 win against Pomeroy for Senior Night on Tuesday, Oct. 22, fell to the still-undefeated Oakesdale Nighthawks, 3-2, on Thursday, Oct. 24, and defeated the St-John-Endicott/LaCrosse (SJEL) Eagles, 3-0, on Saturday, Oct. 26.

Senior this year include defensive specialist Camryn Blankenchip, middle blocker Hailey Beckner and libero Iris Turner.

Against Pomeroy, the set scores were 25-15, 25-21 and 25-20.

Junior Elena Flansburg led the vikings with 13 digs, three blocks and 10 kills with sophomore Kyra Brantner adding 13 kills. Junior Morgan Lentz led with 18 assists and two blocks, and sophomore Kaylee Kimble had 18 assists and three aces. Junior Clare Bowechop notched eight digs in the match.

"We've spent a lot of time talking about being confident in ourselves and our abilities," Gar-Pal coach Genna Bessey said. "As a team, we've always kind of struggled with the mental side of things so we've spent a lot of time with our game plan and how we're going to work on it."

On Thursday, the top two teams in the League faced off in a five-set barn burner with the Vikings taking on the Nighthawks. Oakesdale pulled out the win with set scores of 23-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-18 and 15-8.

Set one began with a kill by Flansburg, assisted by Kimble, who helped the Vikings take a 6-0 lead. A kill by Bowechop, also assisted by Kimble and a front-line block kill by Beckner brought the score to 11-3 before Oakesdale was forced to take its second timeout of the match.

The Nighthawks began firing back with kills by eighth grader Parker Davis, junior Bradyn Henley and aces by freshman Addy Lisenbee and Henley. Oakesdale tied the set, 15-15, causing Gar-Pal to take a timeout to regroup.

With volleys consisting of several digs and blocks at the net, the teams traded kills back-and-forth before the set was tied, 23-23. Gar-Pal got the next point on a double-touch rule by Oakesdale, and the Nighthawks attempted a kill but the ball sailed out of bounds and the Vikings won the first set, 25-23.

"That was an excellent game, both sides" Bessey said. "I love to play games like this that are challenging for both sides. It's more fun to have a game this way than when you either get stomped or stomp on (your opponent)."

Set two began with kills for Oakesdale by Davis, Henley and sophomore Grace Perry. A pair of aces by freshman Lyla Kjack allowed the Nighthawks to take an 8-3 lead before the Vikings called a timeout.

A kill and two aces by Bowechop tied the score, 14-14, and Oakesdale called a timeout as well. The Nighthawks then went on a six-point run with three kills from Henley and an ace by freshman Megan Crider.

The Vikings tried to keep up but an ace by Lisenbee ended set two with the Nighthawks winning, 25-19, and tying the match, 1-1.

Set three began with a block kill by Perry and an ace by Davis to help give the Nighthawks a 6-2 lead over the Vikings. Gar-Pal answered with an ace by Kimble and a front-line block kill by Brantner, helping the Vikings tie the set, 13-13.

Neither team could gain more than a two-point advantage until the score was tied, 22-22. The Vikings gained the next three points on two kills by Brantner to take the 25-22 win, and lead the match, 2-1.

"They didn't quit," Bessey said. "There were multiple times in every game where they could have thrown their hands up and said 'nah, we're done' and they didn't quit."

Oakesdale came out on fire in the third set, taking a 6-0 lead with a couple of block-kills by Perry and Davis. Gar-Pal fired back with a kill by Bowechop, assisted by Lentz and an ace by Flansburg. A block kill by Beckner tied the set at 7-7.

The set remained close before Oakesdale gained six points in a row on kills by Henley and Kjack and aces by Crider. Gar-Pal began to come back, but a tip kill by Henley ended set four with Oakesdale winning, 25-18, and tying the match at 2-2.

The fifth and deciding set was a front-line battle at the net. There were four block kills between the two teams in the first seven volleys.

Oakesdale maintained control and took a 7-2 lead. Gar-Pal stayed in the match and gained points on kills by Bowechop and Brantner to ease the deficit to 11-8. Oakesdale then gained the next four points, with the match ending on a kill by Davis, assisted by Crider to give the Nighthawks the 15-8 set win and the 3-2 match victory.

"Pregame I just told them to give their 100% and to have a good time tonight, because we knew it was going to be a good game," Bessey said. "We're building a stronger program and I feel like we still have a lot of room to go up, and we are only going to go up."

Bowechop led the Vikings with 16 kills, 13 digs and two aces. Flansburg added two aces with Beckner and Lentz each getting three blocks.

The Vikings finished the regular season with a 3-0 victory against SJEL on Saturday. Set scores were 25-19, 25-17 and 26-24.

Gar-Pal next began the Southeast 1B League tournament with a home match against the Sunnyside Christian Knights at 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 28, after press time. The Vikings lost to the Knights, 3-0, in the last round of districts last season.

"Our postseason goal is to go out and give 100% all the time and to enjoy ourselves while we're doing it," Bessey said. "We have worked every skill to the max and I feel like we have reached where we need to be and enjoy this. Enjoy the fact that we're on top for once. Enjoy the fact that we can walk in the gym and know that we can compete with anybody."