The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

The Prescott Tigers claimed a home-match victory on March 9, against Liberty Christian, in straight sets. Scores were 25-11, 25-20, and 25-15

Coach Bob Young shared that Prescott improved to 6-2 on the season. They continued to play solid ball. The Tigers served at 86% with 13 aces and a .333 hitting percentage with 13 kills. He said that Prescott controlled the first set and came from behind in the second and third after slow starts.

Senior Frida Gonzalez led the Tigers with 92% serving, six aces, and two kills; Junior Angeles Ayala hit .545 with six kills on 11 swings.

“That was a solid team performance. We shut the door on the Patriots in the 2nd and 3rd sets after a bit of a slow start with poor serve receive,” said Young. “We showed our muster with strong serving and pressure offense. Frida took command in that first set with her power serving and switching looks on them. Angeles is becoming a force in the middle. She’s becoming much more aggressive in her net play. We’ll need to play together as we take on Touchet on Thursday.”

Prescott Volleyball fell short of victory against Touchet High School, on March 11. Scores were 23-25, 25-14, 21-25, and 23-25.

Prescott fell to 6-3 on the season after a hard-fought match against Touchet on Prescott’s Senior Night. Both teams battled every point all night long, and neither team allowed sustained runs, Young shared.

Prescott Seniors recognized during Senior Night were four-year starter Jena Rowlette; three-year starter Frida Gonzalez; two-year starter Karina Quiroz; two-year defense specialist, Adelita Benito; 1-year outside hitter, Ericka Eulloqui.

The Tigers were led by the play of their middles, Senior Jena Rowlette and Junior Angeles Ayala combined for 15 kills and six blocks. Junior Michell Morales added five aces to top Prescott from the service line. Freshman Fatima Becerra led the defense with five digs and 2.25 passing.

“That was a whale of an effort by our girls. They left it all on the court. Congrats to Touchet as they played well. They handled everything we threw at them,” said Young. “Coach Mim always gets them to play hard. We were a bit off from the service line, giving them 16 errors against 14 aces. Cut that number in half and the outcome goes our way. Tonight was the most combined swings by any Prescott middles that I can think of, 48 with 15 kills. Jena and Angeles led our attack. I want to thank our seniors for leading our program over the past few years and demonstrating to the girls behind them what it means to play Tiger volleyball.”

Prescott claimed a final victory on the season closer, against Desales High School, with four sets scores of 25-16, 25-23, 20-25, and 27-25. The team’s final record was 7-3.

The Tigers were led once again by the middles, Jena Rowlette with seven kills, 11 aces, and two blocks, and Angeles Ayala with 12 kills on .545 hitting and two blocks. Senior Setter Karina Quiroz dishedout 20 assists.

“I’m so proud of the fight in these girls. We didn’t serve very well tonight (committing 18 errors) but we still played hard. We stubbed our toes out of the gate in every set and fell behind. But what a second set comeback though! That was Tiger volleyball at its best, playing with grit and intensity. Jena served lights out. Her ability to deliver in the clutch is off the charts,” said Young, reflecting on the season. “Kudos to the Irish, they didn’t fold and came back strong to make it a match right down to the wire. I’m glad Frida came up big to finish off the 4th after struggling early on. This group of girls competed well all season long and pushed Prescott volleyball into a new era of high expectations for the program. I’m proud to be their coach”