West Linn volleyball pushes No. 2 Camas in three-set loss

There was no hesitation.

There was no intimidation.

And there was definitely no fear.

The West Linn volleyball team left it all on the court on Monday, Oct. 7, pushing Washington power Camas to the end in a thrilling 26-24, 30-28, 25-18 loss at West Linn High School.

The quotes, the standings

“I thought it was the best we’ve played all season,” said West Linn senior outside hitter Alexa Cornell, who led her team in kills on Monday. “Our coach (Kathy Walker) just said that. We really stepped it up and I thought we worked together and did good.”

“I think our energy was really good and our communication, too,” said Lion senior setter Allie Hawk. “And we really had a positive attitude coming in.”

“I feel like if we keep getting as a pumped as we did before this game, I think we have a good chance in the future,” added freshman outside hitter Gigi Martin.

With the loss, the ninth-ranked Lions’ second straight, West Linn fell to 8-2 overall (the Lions are also 5-2 in Three Rivers League play). Next up, West Linn plays at Tualatin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9.

Camas, meanwhile, the second-ranked team in Washington’s Class 4A division, won for the 10th straight time and improved to 10-0 overall. Next up, the Papermakers will play Curtis at Curtis High School at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12.

The play

Monday’s first set could not have been closer, a game that featured eight ties and didn’t end until Camas broke a 24-24 tie with a kill from the middle by junior Ella Thompson and a West Linn hitting error that let the Papermakers escape with a 26-24 win.

Hawk had four kills and a block in the opening set, junior Amelia Haj added a block, a kill, a tip and an ace, and junior Kennedy Toomer, Hawk and Martin contributed three points each.

The second set was even closer, with West Linn rallying from a five-point deficit, tying the game at 19-19 and Camas not pulling away until the high-flying Thompson connected on a bullet to make it 29-28 and junior Shaylee Stephen ended the set with a kill from the middle.

The second set featured 14 ties and saw West Linn’s Hawk notch six kills and a block, Martin post five kills, and Hawk tally two kills, two blocks and an ace.

Likewise, the Lions were dead-even at 14-14 in the third set before the Papermakers pulled away. This time, Camas strung together an 11-4 run at the end of the game to win 25-18, a stretch highlighted by two Mairs aces, a block and a tip from Stephen, and a kill and an ace from Thompson.

On their side of the net, the Lions got four kills from Cornell, three from Martin and two aces by freshman Audrina Peia.

“It really just shows our fight,” Cornell said. “It showed that we can fight and we were determined. And when we are, we can get past anything - even if it's the best team in Washington.”

“(The key is) just taking it one game at a time, working on how we can improve our game and not focusing as much on who the opponents are,” Hawk said. “We want to play like this every time.”