Columbia Basin dropped a four-set decision to visiting Lower Columbia on Monday, 27-25, 31-29, 23-25, 25-19, falling to a Red Devils squad that found just enough separation in the moments that mattered.
The opening set set the tone for most of the afternoon. Lexi Rupel and Jacque Williams got the Hawks out to a 7-3 lead behind a run of kills, and Columbia Basin still held a 13-11 edge in the back half. But Lower Columbia strung together a service run — two aces and a kill — to tie it, and the set slipped away in extension points, 27-25.
Set two was the closest thing to a track meet all match. Neither team led by more than three, and the set featured ten ties and three lead changes before Lower Columbia finally pulled away late, 31-29. Columbia Basin's issue wasn't a lack of firepower — Williams hit .364 on the day and Rupel led all Hawks with 16 points — it was consistency behind them. The team finished at just .132 as a unit, and 30 attack errors over four sets kept erasing the good work their front row was doing.
Where Columbia Basin actually won the exchange was at the net. The Hawks out-blocked the Red Devils 14-7 for the match, with Williams and Kennedy Rose combining for seven of those stops, and it showed in set three. That frame had zero lead changes — Columbia Basin controlled it from the opening point through a 25-23 finish, the one set all day where the Hawks looked fully in sync, setter Yahairi Sanchez feeding 42 assists behind a defense that produced 93 digs on the day, with libero Katy Ball adding 20 herself.
But set four unraveled early. The Hawks trailed by as many as five and never found the response that had carried them in set three, falling 25-19 to close out the match. Eva Biladeau added 11 points and Addisen Ford chipped in a pair of blocks in the loss, but Columbia Basin never generated the kind of late run that had rescued set one for their opponent.
The Hawks move to 7-8 on the season. They will open up league play at home on Friday against Blue Mountain with first serve scheduled for 6pm.
