The Washington Lady Blue Lion volleyball teams hosted the teams from McClain High School for a triple bill of action Tuesday, Sept. 1.
Washington swept the three matches from the Lady Tigers.
The Lady Lion freshman team won its match, 25-12 and 26-24.
In the j-v match, Washington won, 25-17 and 25-17.
In the varsity match, Washington rallied from a set down to beat McClain, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23 and 25-21.
It was the Frontier Athletic Conference opener Tuesday.
“We started off a little bit slow,” Washington head coach Ashley DeAtley said. “They were really pressing us. We were telling the girls to move their feet, move their feet. Our footwork picked up and we were able to gain some momentum from our back row players to pick up some digs.
“We had to make a switch with our setters and Allie Mongold did a great job of stepping in,” DeAtley said. “It was an all-team effort. We kept putting players in different areas to see what the best fit was. The girls did a good job of adapting and just going with it. I was proud of them for being able to jump on the court and just do their jobs.
“We served pretty tough,” DeAtley said. “We were able to get up a lot of digs. At first we were struggling with the tips. Ellie Lynch did a good job and Aaralyne Estep always does a great job.
“Emily Semler and Brittney Wilson took the lead roles,” DeAtley said. “That was great senior leadership. We moved Rachel Palmer around a little bit and Amya Haithcock did a good job of stepping up. Mallory (Hicks) stayed consistent in the middle, which is exactly what we needed. Our five seniors did a great job of leading tonight.”
With no way of knowing, even more now than usual, what the future holds, in this time of COVID, the Lady Lions recognized their five seniors Tuesday: Emily Semler, Amya Haithcock, Brittney Wilson, Mallory Hicks and Rachel Palmer.
“McClain has some strong hitters and they are real scrappy,” DeAtley said. “I wish them well the rest of the season. I’m sure they’ll give everyone a tough fight.”
Statistically for Washington, Mallory Hicks and Brittney Wilson each had three ace serves.
Emily Semler led the Lady Lions with seven kills, Hicks had five kills, Wilson had four kills and Jeleeya Tryee-Smith, Kassidy Olsson and Amya Haithcock each had three kills.
Hicks and Wilson each had two solo blocks and Hicks assisted on three blocks.
Aaralyne Estep led with 25 digs, Semler had 15, Wilson had 10, Allie Mongold had seven and Ellie Lynch had seven.
Mongold led the team with 21 assists.
Washington (2-1, 1-0) has another FAC match at Hillsboro Thursday with the j-v starting at 5 p.m.
