One night after a 3-1 road victory against Todd Beamer, the Yelm High School volleyball team was swept by the Timberline Blazers, 3-0, Tuesday, Sept. 19 in a home conference match.
The Tornados trailed for nearly the entirety of the first two sets, as the Blazers took the first set 25-14 and the second 25-6. Yelm struggled to dig Timberline’s powerful serves, and the Blazers exposed gaps in the Tornado defense throughout the match.
“They didn’t step on that court with any energy and fight. We just kind of went through the motions, and we can’t do that. Our league is too tough,” first-year head coach Heidi DeFord said.
DeFord said the Tornados picked up the energy in the third set, rallying to take a 16-15 lead after trailing by five early. The Blazers scored the final four points to break a 21-21 tie and secure the sweep.
“We need to work on their mindset and get them a little bit more fiery,” DeFord said. “I told them tonight that we’re not going to talk much [Wednesday], but they need to think about what they didn’t like and what needs to be fixed, and then we’re gonna move forward and work on that.”
Junior libero Layah Hicks led the team with 17 digs, and DeFord credited freshman Lilly Grant for posting three aces.
Yelm also faced Peninsula High School on Thursday, Sept. 21 and lost, 3-1, to fall to 1-3 on the young season. The Tornados played Capital High School on the road Tuesday. Results were not available before press time.
