The Northwest Christian volleyball team popped off on offense after a slow start to defeat Pe Ell in five sets in Lewis County Monday, Sept. 28.
Pe Ell scored the first nine points of the first set, but the Wolverines eventually found their focus to get back within striking distance. The Trojans prevailed 25-21.
“Something we have been working on at practice is playing well under pressure, and we did that tonight,” Northwest Christian co-head coach Sarah Barnard said.
That work in practice paid off in the second set, with Northwest Christian winning 26-24. The Wolverines took a 2-1 set lead after clinching the third frame 25-17, but Pe Ell pushed back with a 25-21 fourth-set win.
Northwest Christian, which hadn’t seen a fifth set yet this season, earned a 15-8 victory in the final stanza.
“It was such a fun match. They are very well-coached and they do not let anything hit the floor without 100% effort,” Barnard said of Pe Ell. “Our goal going into tonight was simple: fight. Even though we had a slow start and they had us down 0-9, we refocused and turned things around.”
Addy Hentges dazzled on offense with 19 kills, three aces and one assist while adding five digs on defense. She only had two attack errors on 32 attempts. Ashlynn Hutchings posted a double-double of 12 kills and 10 digs, while Jess Collins piled up an impressive statline of 47 assists, 11 digs and four aces.
Tenlee Nonn added 11 kills and five aces, and Mimi Espinoza contributed a team-high 22 digs with nine kills.
Northwest Christian (7-3, 2-0 Sea-Tac League) quickly returns to action with a trip to Muckleshoot Tribal School Tuesday, Sept. 29.
