Lady Vikes Start Strong on the Road

Big Bend Community College hit the road this weekend to begin a four-game series, taking on Whatcom, Highline, Pierce, and Skagit Valley Community Colleges. The Lady Vikes kicked off their weekend with an impressive win against Whatcom CC, showcasing resilience and teamwork in their opening match.

BBCC came out strong in the first set, dominating with a decisive 25-15 victory. However, the momentum shifted in the second set, as a sluggish performance allowed Whatcom to even the score at 1-1. Despite the setback, the Lady Vikes regrouped and fought hard to clinch the third and fourth sets, both by narrow 25-23 margins, securing the match 3-1.

Patricia Kirby led the way for the Vikings, anchoring the offense with an impressive 13 kills. Camryn Birch and Audry Wellhausen also made significant contributions, each adding 8 kills to the team's total. Their combined efforts were pivotal in pushing BBCC past Whatcom and setting a positive tone for the rest of the weekend. Head Coach Alexa Moser had this to say regarding the solid start.

"I was very happy with this match. We've been struggling with starting strong and finally we came out of the gate ready to compete and won the first set handily. Out of all our previous wins, we hadn't won a first set yet. Our ball control was great, our offense was in system, our setters were able to spread out the offense and especially in set 1, it felt like they could just throw the ball up and any hitter could put it away. We struggled in set 2 but then fought back sets 3 and 4. Overall, this was a great team win, so many players contributed, goals were met, energy was high, the girls were fun to watch."

Following a strong opening match, Big Bend Community College faced Highline Community College in their second game of the weekend. Unfortunately, the Lady Vikes struggled to find their rhythm, coming out flat and unable to generate the offensive spark that had powered their earlier success.

Highline took control early and maintained their dominance throughout the match, sweeping BBCC in three straight sets with scores of 25-13, 25-17, and 25-14. The Lady Vikes' offense never quite found its footing, as they were unable to mount a sustained attack against a formidable Highline defense.

Despite the slow offensive performance, there were some bright spots for the Lady Vikes. Eight members of the team managed to register at least one kill, highlighting the depth and potential within the squad. Emma Lucas played a key role in facilitating the offense, dishing out 11 assists in the match. Moser reflected on the match by stating.

"We knew this was going to be a tough match. Highline is one of the best teams in the NWAC. The frustrating part was that we still battled ourselves this match. We had a lot of unforced errors which are

just easy, free points for opposing teams. Missed serves, negative hitting percentages, when you play a

great team like that, you can't make those simple mistakes because they capitalize on those and run with it. The good news is, being able to see a team like that so we know what we have to work towards and the level of ball we have to play to compete and win games at this level."

On day two, BBCC started strong, taking the first set with a dominant 25-13 performance, mirroring their explosive starts in earlier matches. However, Pierce CC responded with intensity, narrowly edging out the Lady Vikes in the second and third sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-24, putting BBCC on the back foot and forcing them to elevate their game.

Unfazed by the setback, the Lady Vikes regrouped and came out firing in the fourth set, storming to a commanding 25-12 win to level the match. The fifth and deciding set was a nail-biter, with both teams trading points in a fierce battle. Ultimately, BBCC held their nerve and clinched the final set 17-15, securing a hard-fought 3-2 victory.

Audrey Wellhausen led the Viking offense with an impressive 15 kills at a hitting efficiency of .300 and added 5 block assists, showcasing her all-around impact on the game. Patricia Kirby contributed significantly with 9 kills and an outstanding hitting efficiency of .438. Emma Lucas brought her "A" game, dishing out a season-high 32 assists, playing a crucial role in orchestrating the Lady Vikes' offense.

"This was an exciting game. Again we came out strong in the first set which has been nice to see an adjustment being made. But then set 2 we didn't match the same energy and competitive drive and set 3 we completely fell apart, we struggled offensively, couldn't find a way to score and so I switched things around a little and in set 4 we came back with the same fire we had in set 1. We had great ball control and execution was great so I was confident going into the 5th set. And the 5th set was a battle, a lot of back and forth and the girls did not stop fighting until the very end. Very proud of them being able to pull out a win in a 5 set match."

Coming off a thrilling five-set victory against Pierce CC the previous day, the Lady Vikes were looking to carry that momentum into their matchup with Skagit Valley. Despite their best efforts, BBCC struggled to find their footing, with their offense stalling and the defense unable to contain Skagit's attack.

The lone bright spot for the Lady Vikes was Audrey Wellhausen, who continued her strong performance from the weekend with 7 kills and a hitting efficiency of .278. Her contributions were a testament to her consistency, even in a challenging match. Moser highlighted.

"This match we can just chalk up as being an off game for us. We couldn't match the energy and rhythm of the game on Skagit's side, ball control wasn't great, set location was off, we were hitting in the

negatives, I think mental and physical fatigue from a long competitive weekend of volleyball set in. We tried to switch lineups every set just to see if we could find something that worked but we just couldn't find a rhythm. Skagit Valley is a great team and they were fresh and ready to go, we had just played in a 5 set match."

After yet another busy weekend for Viking Volleyball, Head Coach Alexa Moser recapped the weekend by stating.

"Overall, I am happy with the weekend, all I can ask of these girls is to be a little better than what they were the day before and going 2-2 on the weekend is something to be proud of. Sure you would love to go 4-0, even 3-1 but we are seeing some of the best teams in the NWAC so I'm glad we have so many of these matches in our pre-season so we know what we need to work towards. At the end of the day, I would say this was a successful weekend. We had a lot of good moments, but we also had a lot of moments of struggles. And so I think we're still trying to work towards finding a consistency to our game and we just have to keep working through the not so good moments because not everyone is going to have the best game of their life on the same day, that's just not how volleyball or even athletics in general works for that matter. I would say one of the biggest focuses in practice this week has been serving because we've given away some easy points from the service line and we still struggled with that this weekend again, so that was frustrating but the heart and grit of these girls outweighs any of those mistakes and this group of 17 girls is something special. We have a lot of potential this year and I know we are just going to keep growing as a team."

BBCC prepares for another lengthy road trip as they will be  returning to Highline College for the NWAC Crossover Tournament with matches against Chemeketa, Highline, Olympic and another NWAC team TBD this upcoming weekend.

As always, keep up with the Vikings on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as through the NWACSports Network's livestream video platform, where available.