By Nov. 12—Box Score
At Yakima Valley SunDome
WARRIORS 3, HUSKIES 2
Alimra-CH 18 25 25 19 15 — 3
Morton 25 7 22 25 13 — 2
HUSKIES 3, VIKINGS 0
Garfield-P. 23 22 22 — 0
Morton 25 25 25 — 3
YAKIMA — When thinking about her team's first game at the 1B State Tournament in Yakima, a five-set loss in the Round of 16 against No. 12 Almira-Coulee-Hartline, Morton coach Jamie Brazil had a simple explanation.
"Coming here and playing, this is the first time that a lot of them have been to state," Brazil said. "I think the nerves took over that first game for us."
By the time the Huskies took the court again later Wednesday afternoon, most of the nerves had settled, and No. 5 Morton bounced back with a 25-23, 25-22, 25-22 victory over No. 13 Garfield-Palouse to stay in contention for a trophy and extend their state tournament run into Thursday.
In between games, the Huskies only had about an hour and a half to regroup before facing the Vikings with their season on the line.
"They just worked on dealing with the nerves," Brazil said. "They just really kind of sat together, talked about what they could improve on, and just initiated the plan."
Part of that plan was avoiding long runs giving up points.
In the loss against ACH, Morton won the first set, but allowed a 15-1 run in the second set and eventually lost that set 25-7. In the third set, the Huskies held a 22-15 lead, but they gave up 10 straight points to fall behind 2-1.
After winning the fourth set, Morton took a 9-5 lead in the fifth, but the Warriors rattled off five straight points to take the lead, and they eventually scored the final two points of the game out of a timeout to seal the win.
In the elimination game against Garfield-Palouse, Morton was able to stop those runs and bounce back much quicker.
In the second set, the Vikings jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but moments later, Morton tied the game at six. They eventually won the second set and took the third to advance.
"They get tired, they get in their head, they start thinking 'what did I do wrong?'" Brazil said. "They start overthinking everything … They just have to be in that present moment. Champions are made in the present moment … I think they did that (in the second game), but I think that was an issue in the first game."
Brazil added that she thought her group felt "more at home" in the second matchup, and there was an emphasis on the team motto 'We over me.'
"We talk about it all the time," Brazil said. "It's less scary when you're playing for someone else."
Against ACH, Ryelin Wiedenmann tallied 23 digs, 22 kills, and two blocks, and Chevy Fuller added 11 kills and three blocks. Layna Sams ended the game with 19 digs, a kill, and a block, and Kendall Cournyer collected 23 digs while chipping in five kills.
Jewel Dygert notched 25 digs and a kill, and Crystal Dygert dished out 28 assists while also posting 13 digs and four kills.
Against Garfield-Palouse, Wiedenmann finished with 15 kills, 11 digs, and a block, Fuller added nine kills and a block, and Cournyer tallied 14 digs, four blocks, and four kills. Crystal Dygert finished the night with 26 assists and two kills, and Sams recorded 14 digs, two kills, and a block.
The Huskies (18-3) will play in another elimination game against No. 8 Neah Bay on Thursday morning at 10 a.m.
If they win, they'll advance to the 7th/8th game, which guarantees that they would return home with a trophy.
The last time that the Morton Huskies won a trophy at a state volleyball tournament was in 2003, when they finished seventh, according to the WIAA website.
In 2013, the Morton/White Pass volleyball team finished sixth, also according to the WIAA website.
"We're super excited," Brazil said. "I feel like (Wednesday) was the true test for us. Hopefully tomorrow, we'll come in locked in, focus on our team motto, have some fun, and play good volleyball. That's the goal."
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/morton-bounces-back-first-round-191700761.html
