HOPE — Trinity Lutheran showed why it is one of the Class A state title contenders in its volleyball matchup Thursday at Hauser.
The Cougars, the top-ranked team in Class A, found a way to make some significant runs in to which the Class A No. 9 Jets couldn’t recover in a 25-12, 25-17, 25-19 victory.
“I thought we stayed composed and communicated very well,” Trinity coach Faith Wilder-Newland said. “Even though we made some mistakes, they didn’t let it affect them for very long. They shook it off and just kept playing. They were very much in control of themselves. We have a strong front line, they hit smart, and we kept going at them. They got some amazing balls back at us, and there were some really good rallies, some fun rallies, too. It was fabulous to watch.”
Hauser (16-6) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set, but the Cougars (19-5) came back, scoring five of the next six points to move ahead 5-4. Later in the set with the score tied at 10-10, Trinity rallied for six straight points that forced a Jet timeout, but that didn’t slow the Cougar momentum. They captured five of the next six points to lead 21-11 and eventually close out the set.
Hauser kept the second set tight, getting within 11-10 after trailing 9-5, but Trinity picked up five of the next six points to force a timeout. The Jets never could recovered in that set.
Hauser stayed competitive early in the third set leading 11-9, but the Cougars went on a 5-1 run to lead 14-12. Later in the set, with Trinity leading 19-17, the Cougars closed out the set on a 6-2 run.
“We need to be a little sharper, and we had some mental letdowns,” Hauser coach Jeff Case said. “We’d make a lot of good plays, but then we hurt ourselves with an unforced error here or there. When you do that against a good team, they’re going to take advantage of that.”
For the Jets, Andie Clark finished with 13 digs and an ace. Aunaka Wasil recorded 25 assists, Hannah Johnson had 10 kills, Olivia Wright had five kills and Shelby Fugate added 15 digs and seven kills.
Trinity’s Hannah Sabotin had 16 kills, nine digs and five blocks. Sydney Jaynes added 11 kills, Elly Carter had 14 digs and three aces, Kamzi Gross added 15 digs and Paige Lawrence tallied 34 assists.
There is the potential for both teams to meet again in the semistate should they both get past the regional.
“One thing we talked about was atmosphere. The atmosphere of the gym, being in someone else’s home gym and having the crowd yell and scream giving that tournament-like atmosphere,” Wilder-Newland said. “I thought we handled it really well.”
Thursday night was a fundraiser for Hauser in the fight against cancer for student Joe Newcomb. He was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Students, fans, coaches and the Hauser players wore purple shirts to support Newcomb in the fight.
The money of raised during the game was close to $1,200. They’ve put on this fundraiser for the eighth year, with Liam Rodgers, the first recipient in the annual event, in attendance for Thursday’s game.
Newcomb is the brother of Hauser graduate Erin Newcomb, who suffered a traumatic brain injury and broken bones from a serious car accident in Aug. 2018.
“It’s awesome. It says a lot about the community. It’s a reflection of why the volleyball team does so well, and it’s because of the community,” Case said. “They always stick together. The hard work and fair play, faith and it’s just pretty neat. It’s great.”
