Everett, WA – With five games remaining in the regular season, the Trojans came into Tuesday night's match with Whatcom hoping to ride the momentum of the weekend win over Shoreline. EvCC had plenty of confidence, beating the Orcas 3-0 back on September 22nd in Bellingham. WCC however despite their 8-12 overall record has been playing good volleyball, taking a set from top ranked Bellevue and nearly pulling off the upset against Edmonds in a match that went to five sets.
Everett started out the first set on Dig Pink Night hitting the ball well with .600 efficiency and jumped out to an 8-3 lead before Whatcom took a timeout. Katie Serles continued with a service ace out of the break but Whatcom kept things close and fought back to within one at 13-12. Jolena Hoefer answered with a kill to gain some momentum back, however the Orcas got the next three points, tied the match at 15 and forced coach Williams to take a timeout. The Trojans then went on a 4-0 run with three Orca attack errors and it would be Whatcom taking the timeout.
Jessica Eames connected on a kill out the break, followed by a Cam Clarke service ace that appeared would be enough to propel EvCC to the set win, but Whatcom found their nerve and responded with five straight to claw back to within one at 21-20 before EvCC took their final timeout. The home Trojans weathered the storm and were benefactors of a couple service errors to get the 25-22 set win. Malia Shepherd and Annika Jones each had 3 kills, while Katie Serles served up 3 aces, and Denna Gibb had 9 digs.
Whatcom got out to a 5-4 lead in set two, but Jolena Hoefer got a monster kill to tie things up and steal back some momentum. Five straight points forced Whatcom to take a timeout and it was EvCC that now led 9-5. The Orcas continued to show resiliency and fought back to tie it up at 12. The set would then see eight more ties and seven lead changes before Whatcom was able to close out a nail biter set 26-24. Annika Jones again had 3 kills and Jolena Hoefer added 2 kills.
Second set hangover looked to be a factor for the Trojans as they fell down early 4-0, and then 8-3 before coach Williams called the first timeout in the third set. EvCC fought back and after back-to-back service aces from Denna Gibb, the match was tied 9-9. A kill by Katie Serles then gave Everett their first lead of the set at 10-9 and Whatcom called their first timeout. More ties and lead changes ensued between the two teams until Everett went on a 7-3 run to take a 20-16 lead and force Whatcom's last timeout. EvCC kept control for the remainder of the set and won 25-18. Annika Mason had three big kills that helped seal the win.
Both teams were locked in to start set four, and it was a 10-10 tie through the first 20 points. Malia Shepherd then connected on her 4th service ace of the match to take the lead and persuade WCC to take their first timeout. Out of the break the Trojans won a huge point after a long rally that gave EvCC even more momentum. At 16-12, Whatcom called their final timeout of the set. Down the stretch, Everett converted on several timely hits that was capped by another Annika Mason kill and EvCC prevailed 25-20 to take the match.
It was a balanced Trojan attack with Annika Jones leading the way at 12 kills, and 11 apiece from Malia Shepherd and Jolena Hoefer. For Hoefer her career best attacking night. As a team, EvCC was deadly behind the service line with 15 aces, and had a presence at the net with 8 blocks. Five Trojans flew around defensively collecting double digit digs, led by Malia Shepherd who had 27 a new career best.
The Trojans move to 4-4 in conference play and have a date set on the road with Edmonds in a rematch of the rivals. Edmonds won the first meeting in 3 sets, but it was a competitive match and the Trojans are hungry for redemption.