Columbia Basin never trailed by more than a few points in the first two sets, and it held its composure when the third one got away from it. The Hawks beat Treasure Valley 25-14, 25-14, 25-19 on Wednesday to improve to 12-8 overall and 5-1 in league play.
Set one was settled in the middle. Treasure Valley led 5-3, and the Hawks answered with an 8-0 run that turned a 5-7 deficit into a 15-5 lead. Adalei Lefebvre served through most of it, and Eva Biladeau finished two rallies with kills. The Chukars cut a 21-9 gap to 21-14 with five straight points, which prompted a Hawks timeout. Kennedy Rose then closed the set with back-to-back kills.
The second set followed the same pattern. Columbia opened with a 6-0 burst, stretched the lead to 12-4, and led by at least five points the rest of the way. Treasure Valley managed two kills in the set and hit -.231.
The third set was the one that tested the Hawks. They led 6-3, then Alison Dilbeck went on a serving run for the Chukars, and eight straight points put Treasure Valley ahead 11-6. Columbia Basin worked its way back, tied the set at 13, 14 and 15, then pulled ahead for good at 16-15. The Hawks outscored the Chukars 10-4 from there, and Ella Jensen's service ace made it 23-18 before Lefebvre's kill and a Treasure Valley error ended it.
Yahairi Sanchez ran the offense, with 27 assists and nine digs. Biladeau led the Hawks with 8 kills and 10 points, and Rose also had 8 kills. Addisen Ford was the most efficient hitter among the regulars, with 7 kills on 14 swings (.357) and three blocks, for 9.5 points. Lefebvre hit .375 with four kills and also served through the first-set run. Jensen entered as a server and had three aces.
The team numbers show why the margin was wide. Columbia Basin had 37 kills and hit .143, while Treasure Valley had 12 kills against 25 errors, a -.153 percentage. The Hawks also led 44-35 in digs, 7-5 in aces and 5-2 in total blocks.
With the win, the Hawks will travel to Yakima on Friday to take on the 1st place Yaks in a rival showdown starting at 6pm.
