AUBURN - Evergreen fought hard before bowing out of the 2009 West Central III/Southwest Washington District IV bi-district volleyball tournament on Saturday, November 7, on the hardwood courts of Auburn Mountainview High School.
Despite some super efforts, the Wolverines lost two consecutive matches to end one of their best seasons in recent years.
Late in the afternoon, Evergreen opened with a 3-1 loss to Timberline. Game scores were 25-22, 22-25, 16-25 and 15-25. Game featured the Wolverines’ ability to hit and block effectively from the front row on the way to leads of 14-11 and 15-12 before the Blazers fired back with their big hitters for a 17-15 margin.
Trailing 21-18, Evergreen battled back from adversity using dynamic digs from the back row and a service ace from junior libero Linda Ba en route to five consecutive points and a 23-21 edge. Timberline gained side out, but Lorraine Toilolo’s attempted kill forced a Blazer return to go out. Ratelina Sianutu put away the winning point for the Wolverines.
In the second game, Timberline controlled the flow midway through the action to establish a 20-13 advantage. Although a late rally drew the Wolverines within 24-22 on a block at net, an Evergreen return found the wrong side of the net to end the game.
Timberline dominated play with hard hitting and blocks to take the next two games.
“When our team is on, we’re really on,” declared Evergreen coach Bethany Tate. “Our girls rely too much on good plays to stay up. We have to develop more resiliency. It takes four good plays in a row to overcome one bad play. That’s why I was pleased with the first game. We were able to come back from some tough situations.”
Sophomore Toilolo led Evergreen with 11 kills while senior Gertrude Toilolo put away nine kills. Carolena Siliaga dished out 23 assists.
In the loser-out, evening match the Enumclaw Hornets stung the Wolverines, 25-14, 25-19, 21-25 and 25-18.
In game one, Enumclaw broke out to a 16-8 lead on six consecutive points en route to the win. Six ties ensued in the next game until a Hornet 5-0 run made the score 21-16 and the Hornets went on to victory.
Following six ties in the third game, Evergreen accelerated away. Controlling the net, the Wolverines turned an 18-16 deficit into a 22-18 before trading points on the way to the triumph. Tied at 16-16 in the deciding game, Enumclaw showed superiority in the front line to outscore Evergreen 9-2 and end the Wolverine season.
Gertrude Toilolo closed out her Evergeen volleyball career with nine kills while Ba fought for 20 digs.
