Cheney volleyball goes 1-1 in Great Northern League play

The Cheney High volleyball team went 1-1 in Great Northern League matches this past week, first sweeping Clarkston, 3-0, on Sept. 13, then getting swept by West Valley, 3-0, Sept. 15.

While Cheney defeated Clarkston in three sets (27-25, 25-14 and 27-25), the win was anything but easy.

The difficulties started early for the Blackhawks after setter Peyton Stark left the match with a sprained ankle. Head coach Heather Zorrozua shifted to a new formation and placed Rylie Pease in the setter spot. Pease lead her team with 12 assists.

“The goal in that first set was to get out of it,” Zorrozua said. “I’m proud of how they were trying to adjust to the new formation. The girls did a good job of focusing on each point.”

After Cheney rallied back to win game 1, they put the Bantams away early to win the second game. The team continued to struggle in adjusting to the new formation in the third set where KD Skillingstad took over as setter.

“We were successful, we got a little confused,” Zorrozua said. “It’s a little hard when you don’t have the stability of your setter (Stark) in your lineup.”

Pease led her team in blocks with two while Ally Jones notched 14 digs. Pease, Jones and Stark recorded one ace each. Taylor Gould recorded 11 kills.

To prepare for West Valley, the Blackhawks practiced running an offense without Stark. Zorrozua said West Valley set the slower tempo than what her team was used to. The set scores were 25-19, 25-21 and 25-22.

“West Valley played solid and we could not find any holes in their defense,” she said. “Morgan (Peace) did great from the net but she couldn’t hit as high as them. We weren’t executing.”

Gould led her team with five kills and Pease had seven assists. Jones led the match with 23 digs and recorded two aces while Skillingstad notched one block. Despite the loss, Zorrozua said she is excited to play West Valley again, Oct. 4, when she has a healthy roster, including Stark who may have played in Cheney’s (2-1 GNL, 2-1 overall) Sept. 21 match against Greater Spokane League’s Rogers.

“Hopefully we get to show the league what we can do,” Zorrozua said. “I’ve got a good group on my hands.”

The Blackhawks host East Valley (1-1, 2-1) tonight (Sept. 22) at 7 p.m.

Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.