Big Game Report: Ellensburg at West Valley Yakima
Tuesday night featured an exciting matchup of two state hopefuls who both made it to the SunDome in 2021. West Valley from the 4A Big 9 hosted the Ellensburg Bulldogs out of the 2A CWAC in a battle of two…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingTuesday night featured an exciting matchup of two state hopefuls who both made it to the SunDome in 2021. West Valley from the 4A Big 9 hosted the Ellensburg Bulldogs out of the 2A CWAC in a battle of two Central Washington powers. Here are some of the players that stood out.
Olivia Anderson
Olivia Anderson
Anderson is an unbelievably long athlete, and a top 25 college basketball prospect expected to sign with a major program. She presented better movement pin to pin on her block, making things tough on the West Valley attackers. She did a great job getting her hands pressed over the net, and continues to improve in transition. Several stuff blocks later in the match helped turn the momentum for her squad.
Kennedy Webb
Kennedy Webb
Committed to playing at Central Washington University, Webb has grown her game to be much more than a hammering outside hitter. She hangs in against tough shots on defense and plays the ball well with her hands when needed. She is solid in serve receive and continues to pound the ball through, off, and over the block. She is always in the right spot on the court, a testament to her volleyball IQ and experience.
Hazel Murphy
Hazel Murphy
This is the first look at the sophomore Murphy and she delivered for the Bulldogs in some crucial spots. She currently is part of the front row rotation in the 6-2 offense, and her swings grew more confident as the match went on. With some off-speed shots already in her arsenal and a live arm, she has a very high ceiling.
Emily Strong
Emily Strong
It was obvious that Ellensburg was doing everything it could to not serve the West Valley libero. Strong is confident, has a great platform, and reads the hitters well. She dug out some lasers from Harrel and the Bulldogs, giving the Rams opportunities to convert in transition. She helps keep the defense set for the back line, and she was a big reason West Valley pulled out the victory.
Lily Kinloch
Lily Kinloch
She will be playing against her current teammate Webb in the GNAC once they both head to college next year. Kinloch will join Northwest Nazarene and they are getting an outside who can attack from both pins with pace and touch. She is defensively able to play the middle back and deliver passes with precision and the right temp for her setter to run the offense. Late in the match, she hit some wicked tight-angle shots from the outside hitter position.
Abbi Harrel continues to do it all for Ellensburg, attacking from all positions and working extremely hard. She is called on to clean up the mess any time the Bulldogs are in trouble. Grace Jones Grace Jones 5'9" | S South Whidbey | 2024 State WA is a handful at 6’4, when she is matched as the right side with Anderson as the middle, it’s one of the bigger blocks in the state. Parker Lyyski is the third of the triple towers for Ellensburg. The 6’1 middle has the most fluid game of the three. Lexi Barbee controlled the match well for West Valley from the setter position. She has great chemistry with her attackers and was very vocal, operating as the coach on the floor- and she delivered a few timely attacks late to propel the Rams.
.
West Valley stormed out to a 2-0 set lead, but Ellensburg found their mojo in the 3rd, cranking up the defensive energy and cutting it to a 2-1 advantage for the Rams. It was close throughout in the 4th set, but West Valley ultimately pulled away late for a 25-21 set win to close out the match in 4. Ellensburg faces a tough 2A Chelan team later this week, while the Rams meet AC Davis on Thursday.