The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG - After 5' 8" middle blocker Sarah Mascall went out with a tweaked ankle during the first volleyball game against Waitsburg-Prescott, the young Bulldogs looked like the underdogs as they found themselves up against the much taller Cardinals.

But in the end, Dayton won the two teams' first league match last Wednesday night, beating WP in four games. The Bulldogs won three of the games 25 - 23, 25 - 16 and 25 - 12. WP won one 25 - 17.

"It was a good win," said Dayton head coach Shannon Turner, who has only four returning varsity players this year. "I was most impressed with the young players fol­lowing the older girls' lead. They played with a lot of heart and hustle." In Tuesday night's match against Asotin, Dayton lost in five games, being squeezed out by 2 points through what Bulldogs officials called du­bious

calls by the officials. No more details were avail­able by press time.

In the Bulldogs' game against the Cardinals, sopho­more setter Jessica Tate said her team had faith they'd pull it together against WP despite knowledge that the Bulldogs are a team with many first-time players. "I'm so jazzed," she said. "I guess what drove us is our fear of losing. We wanted to win real badly." The Bulldogs were cheered on by a sizeable and vocal contingent of fans, mostly high school students who didn't let up on their enthusiasm. Home court fans were equally vocal during the first several games but got noticeably quieter during the fourth game, when server Kayla Turner strung together a long series of aces that got the Cardinals behind with a margin from which they didn't recover.

WP head coach Jesse Buehler said the Bulldogs succeeded despite the Cardi­nals'

intensity because their approach was basic and con­sistent: "bump, set, hit." By contrast, the Cardinals were well balanced with the Bulldogs during the first game, which they barely lost 25 -23, then tried to get too fancy, "decorating the house before it's finished," she said. "It was a hard blow as our first home game." The Bulldogs served well, forced numerous Cardi­nals errors and defended effectively against the taller WP offense. The Cardinals passed poorly and "weren't smart about back-row at­tacks," Buehler said. "We did not use our heighth at all," she said, pointing to hitter Genesis Pearson as the exception. Pearson had 15 kills, more than the rest of the WP team combined. The Cardinals did not set or serve well either. "We have to give Dayton credit," Buehler said. "They played great."

Though the Cardinals were disappointed and "beat ourselves up" in the locker room, Buehler said, the first league game was a chance to try different players in differ­ent positions, a process she will continue until the lineup is more effective. "We learned a lot," she said.

WP vs Dayton

Dayton 25 - 23, Dayton 25 - 16, WP 25 -17, Dayton 25 - 12.

Bulldogs: Kayla Turner 13 kills, 8 assists, 2 blocks and 9 aces; McKayla Bickelhaupt 8 kills, 3 aces; Shelby Smith 5 kills, 2 blocks; Jessica Tate 9 assists; Nicole Lambert 13 digs.

Cardinals: Genesis Pearson 15 kills, 5 blocks; Kayla Huxoll 20 assists; Megan Withers 8 digs.