Pasco, WA - The Trojans traveled east for a four day, eight match bender against quality NWAC competition. The first stop was in Wenatchee, where the Trojans took on Clark and Tacoma on day one. Fresh off a motivating win the previous week over Mt. Hood, EvCC looked solid against Clark, winning in four sets and getting a balanced attack at the net with six different Trojans registering four or more kills. Sophomore middle blocker Annaka Mason recorded a season high 8 kills and also had two blocks. Mason came back with another solid performance against Clark, helping the Trojans win in three. Once again she had 8 kills from the middle, and Reece Nelson led the defensive effort with 10 digs, adding to her day total of 38. Setting duties were split between freshman Taylor Holland (13 assists) and sophomore transfer Cadynce Knudson (17 assists).
Unfortunately after three straight wins, Everett stumbled on day two in Wenatchee falling in three sets to Centralia and losing in five to South Puget Sound after leading the match 2-0. Despite the two losses, freshman hitter Maya Gaudia looked solid, finishing with a combined 18 kills and a .389 hitting percentage. Sophomore Halle Wilkinson lead the team in the SPSCC match in points with 13 after registering 9 kills and 4 service aces.
EvCC hit the road southeast to Pasco for another four matches at Columbia Basin College. On Friday, Everett faced off with another west region opponent, Pierce College. The Raiders were a playoff team last season and won the West Region as recently as 2021. The Trojans handled Pierce in three, capitalizing on 44 combined errors (12 from behind the service line). Taylor Holland had a double double performance with 12 assists and 10 digs, while also contributing to the scoreline with a service ace. The biggest win of the trip came against #4 ranked Yakima Valley who defeated EvCC in four sets the previous week. After falling behind 0-2, The Trojans battled back to win the next three including a thrilling 18-16 fifth set. Maya Gaudia and Halle Wilkinson combined for 23 of the teams 34 kills and defensively EvCC was flying around as five different Trojans recorded double digit digs, led by Recce Nelson's 19.
On the final day, fatigue may have been a factor in EvCC's last two matches. If not against Mt. Hood, certainly in the grand finale against Columbia Basin. On the last day Everett squared off with Mt. Hood, a team EvCC defeated in three sets back on Aug. 24th. Mt. Hood took the first two sets, but Everett came back to take the next two both by scores of 25-21. When it looked Everett was going to pull off a second straight comeback win, Mt. Hood rallied and took the final set 15-6, led by Nyah Johnson's 26 kills. Halle Wilkinson had a strong game with 11 kills and 23 digs, while Cadynce Knudson added 17 assists and 20 digs. Sophomore Makenna Linehan led defensively with 26 digs.
The final match of the long road trip came against #5 ranked Columbia Basin. Everett battled tough in the first set but ultimately fell 22-25, and from there CBC prevailed in the next two sets.
The young Trojan team, returning only one starter from last year's team gained more valuable experience with eight more matches under their belt. In their first 12 matches of the season, four have gone the distance to five sets. After a 511 mile round trip, they'll get a much deserved break before traveling to Tacoma on Sep. 6th where they'll get a rematch with both Centralia and Tacoma CC. Then on Saturday, EvCC will take on #2 ranked Highline (6-1) and Spokane at Highline College.