Lady Vikes Fall to Walla Walla CC in Four-Set Battle

In desperate need of a win to avoid a fourth consecutive loss, Big Bend Community College hosted Walla Walla Community College at the DeVries Activity Center on Friday, October 11th. The Lady Vikes put up a strong fight but ultimately fell in four sets, extending their losing streak to four matches.

The first set was a tightly contested affair, with both teams battling back and forth before the Warriors pulled away late, winning 25-20. The second set followed a similar script, with BBCC staying close throughout but falling short again, 25-21. With their backs against the wall, the Lady Vikes rallied to take the third set 25-17, showing resilience and determination. However, Walla Walla closed out the match with a hard-fought 25-22 win in the fourth set.

Despite the loss, BBCC had several standout performances. Natalie Evers delivered a solid all-around effort with 12 kills, 6 digs, and 2 block assists. Hailey Buehner recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs, while Olivia Louie had her best match of the season, leading the offense with 18 kills and 22 digs in a remarkable performance.

Although the Lady Vikes couldn't secure the win, their effort and offensive firepower showed promise as they continue to push through a challenging stretch of the season. BBCC will look to regroup and find a way to snap their losing streak in their upcoming matches. Head Coach Alexa Moser had this to say regarding the tough loss.

"Our outsides and my freshman middle stepped up big time for us. Having three girls in double digit kills is tremendous, usually when that happens you should see a W in the win loss column but unfortunately it wasn't enough for us. We had moments of good, but just not consistently and not enough. We've been trading a lot of point for point or only having a run of a couple points and then it's like we give teams a run of three or four points and it's hard to get in a rhythm and find momentum on our side when we can't keep it there. Another great night from our backrow averaging 26 digs a set, but again, we can't just rely on them, we need to find a way to shut down teams at the net."

Moser also highlighted the ramifications of the loss along with the adversity they have encountered as of late.

"This will be a mental challenge for us. We've unfortunately been on a losing streak, we just lost Audrey to an injury, had a couple other girls missing due to family emergencies and so the next week will be a good test of how mentally tough we are. We just need to reset and have a forward focus. Can't change the outcomes of past games but we can learn from those matches to change the outcomes of our games moving forward. Whatever line-up we go with, whoever we play, we just need to remember we know how to compete, stop over analyzing and over thinking and just play."

Understanding the importance of this match Moser walked us through how they prepared by stating.

"We had a quick turnaround from our game against Wenatchee Wednesday night and with Audrey being injured, our focus in practice was just working through some different line-ups. Lots of offensive focus with setter/hitter connections, which we did see translate over into the match with a very spread out offense and three different girls with double digits kills, but then on the flip side, we were quiet at the net from a blocking standpoint. That's frustrating when that was the focus earlier in the week and honestly every day."

After dropping to 2-5 in conference BBCC has a bye this upcoming Wednesday but are back at it as they host the Spokane Falls Sasquatch on Friday October 18th at the Devries Activity Center. 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.