Everett, WA - On a Friday night, the Trojans took on their inter-county rivals from Edmonds College who were fresh off of a big win over 6th ranked Bellevue. It was going to be a tall order for the Trojans, still looking for their first north region win, but after a week off they looked ready for the challenge.
In the opening set, EvCC showed no fear jumping out to a 13-9 lead, but the Tritons would show why they are a top ranked team and brought the game back to three with a four-point run at 16-13 and forced an Everett timeout. Edmonds would continue the fight and brought it back to an even score at 19 before finishing on a close rally to take their first lead of the match since the score was 2-1. With the score at 21-19 Everett would call their final timeout to refocus, but Edmonds finished out the set 25-21. Sarah Campfield led the Trojans with 4 points on 4 kills.
The second set would get out to a 7-7 tie before Edmonds would respond with five straight points and force the first timeout of the set by Everett. EvCC responded by scoring six of the next eight points and brought it back to one, but the Tritons gutted out two more points and Everett used their last timeout of the set at 17-14. Edmonds continued the surge and brought the lead out to six, but the home Trojans showed no quit and brought it back to two at 21-23 forcing Edmonds to use their timeout. With Everett serving, Edmonds got the sideout point, which set up match point. Everett made it interesting with two straight kills from Sarah Campfield and Stasia Ka'ahanui, but Edmonds got the point they needed and stole the second set 25-23.
Set three picked up right where the last set left off. Everett scored the first three points, but Edmonds once again clawed back and built up a three point lead at 9-6. After a timeout, it was the Trojans that were the agressors, connecting on four straight points to take the lead back at 14-13. The intensity of the set would remain with neither team gaining more than a one point advantage, and it would be Edmonds to call a timeout at 23-23. Jayda Grosboll would serve it out of the short break for the Trojans and after a near miss past the back line, Edmonds held the match point advantage. The final point would come down to a nail biting rally, but Edmonds ultimately prevailed and escaped Everett with the win.
Despite the loss, Everett showed that they could play with some of the best that the north region has to offer. They'll need that confidence as they'll take the next few days to prep for a Skagit Valley team that is ranked 5th in the NWAC and boasting a 13-2 overall record. That match is set for Wednesday, October 6th at 7:00pm in Mount Vernon.