The Cheney High volleyball team defeated West Valley in a Great Northern League (GNL) match on Senior Night, Oct. 23, but it wasn’t easy.
While the Blackhawks swept the Eagles in their previous encounters this season, Cheney had to dig deep to beat West Valley, 3-2. The game scores were 9-25, 25-13, 23-25, 25-19 and 15-10.
The Blackhawks had a rough start in the first game after West Valley took a strong lead early. Cheney found their groove to win game two. They went back and forth with West Valley in game three, until the Eagles clinched the win. Cheney battled back to win the final two games.
Head coach Courtney Webb said this match made her a little nervous.
“It was unpredictable and volleyball can be that way,” Webb said. “It was a rollercoaster, but the end result was what we wanted and that’s the positive of it all.”
Freshman Peyton Stark led her team with four aces and 18 assists, bringing her season total to 85 for the latter. Senior Katie McGourin recorded two blocks and 10 kills.
Twelve seniors from the JV and varsity teams were honored for Senior Night. Webb said many of the girls have been playing on the same team forever and the emotions added to the chaos.
“But they came together toward the end,” Webb said. “It’s always nice to end Senior Night with a win.”
Cheney, 5-6 GNL, 5-7 overall, now sits in third place in the GNL standings. After their final regular season match against second-place Pullman (7-4, 8-5), Oct. 28, the Blackhawks travel to East Valley, Oct. 31 – Nov. 1, to compete in the district tournament. Cheney went 1-2 in last year’s district championships, defeating Deer Park and losing to Pullman and Colville. The top two teams from this year’s tournament will move on to the regional tournament Nov. 8.
Webb said her team will work on various aspects of their game in preparation.
“We’ll be looking at offense, working on playing against teams that have big players at the net and brushing up on our basics,” Webb said.
Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.
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