Oct. 23—MOSES LAKE — The Big Bend Community College Vikings (7-9) had a dominant game at home for their Dig Pink night. The Vikings proved their skills, claiming a 3-1 victory against the Blue Mountain Timberwolves.
"We came out ready to rock and roll and then we just let a couple of mental mistakes dictate that third set," said Vikings Head Coach Lindsey Linthicum. "Sometimes when you get too far behind, it's more of a climb out than trying to just finish it, but thankfully the fourth set, we were like, 'Wait a second, what's going on?' and finished it."
Wednesday's game started close in the first set as BBCC and BMCC went back and forth. After tying 6-6, the Vikings began to pull ahead and eventually built themselves up to a 17-10 lead.
The Wolves worked to gain momentum, but the Vikings held strong to claim a 25-14 victory in the first set.
BBCC had a lot of energy going into the second set, which translated into an early 8-2 lead. Blue Mountain worked to try and climb back, but Big Bend maintained a steady lead through the first half of the set.
After getting ahead 14-9, the Vikings went on a tear with six straight unanswered points. BBCC held BMCC to just two more points as the Vikings won the set 25-11.
The third set saw a shift in momentum. Blue Mountain gained a 6-1 lead over Big Bend at the start of the set. BBCC fought to contain BMCC's offensive push, but the Wolves remained ahead to put the score at 14-6 halfway through the set.
Big Bend came back to cut into the deficit and brought the score to 21-17 with Blue Mountain still in the lead. The Vikings' momentum brought the girls within four points at 24-20 before the Wolves closed things out 25-20.
In the fourth set, the score was close, but after multiple lead changes, Big Bend found momentum to gain an 18-15 lead.
Blue Mountain quickly closed the gap and the game came to a head at 23-22. Using their momentum, the Wolves tied the game at 23-23 and traded the lead into extra points. Molly Mangino scored the final point and put the game away at 27-25.
Energy on the Vikings squad has been growing gradually throughout this season, in between sets the girls were dancing and both on and off the court the team was vocal and heavily celebrated each point.
"The girls are just realizing this was our second-to-last game that's at home," said Linthicum. "They're realizing we're coming down to the last wire and how do we want to finish this season out?"
The coach said she was very proud of the first and second sets where the Vikings ran the ball well. She highlighted their communication, defensive performance and the ability to find consistency in their hitters across the board.
While they struggled to display their skills in these fronts during the third set, she said the team dialed back into what they knew, which led them to win the fourth set.
The full Vikings roster played a part in Wednesday's victory as each girl got playing time. Even without defensive specialist Kelsey Koch, who is competing in the FFA regionals, players like Savannah Golovanov, Liana Sushik, Jacee Otley and Ahtyana Afu gave their all.
"It's pretty exciting for (Kelsey Koch) and (the FFA), but definitely missed her," said Linthicum. "It was awesome to also see everybody else on the floor tonight."
Other highlights came from freshmen Mangino and Ariana Williams who made big plays to help secure points throughout the game. Sophomores Oaklee Woosley and Haedynn Plum also kept the energy alive throughout the game while scoring multiple kills in Wednesday's victory.
One thing Linthicum noticed was the girls showing their own leadership on the court, especially when they were down in the third set, she said. Plum was one who helped get her teammates rally to come back from their rough third set.
Plum said the third and fourth set did not accurately represent what the Vikings are capable of and they needed to communicate with one another. The key change was for her and the other players on the team to use their voices to get everyone back on track.
"Sometimes we lack the communication, and the quiet leaders need to step up," Plum said. "They need to hear it from other voices and not just our captains."
The key takeaway from Wednesday's game was the skills shown by Big Bend's defensive efforts and how well they perform when their defense is on, she said.
"We are spoiled to have Jah Chong," said Plum. "She gets everything. She reads the ball pretty well and then just our trust in the back row, and our front row puts it away. They trust us and those are the key factors I really enjoy."
As of Thursday, BBCC sits fourth in the East Region of the Northwest Athletic Conference with a conference record of 5-5. This puts the Vikings just above Spokane at 4-5 and below Columbia Basin and Walla Walla, who both sit 7-2.
Linthicum said that, while the girls are aware of the possibility of making the postseason, that isn't in the front of their minds at the moment. Focusing on each upcoming game for their final matchups of the regular season will be the most important thing.
"We want to get there," she said. "It's been years since Big Bend's been at the NWAC regionals and so right now our focus is each game, each rally, each set."
The road to postseason won't be easy. The Vikings are set to face Yakima Valley, Columbia Basin and Walla Walla, who make up the top three of the East Region. Linthicum said the Vikings will keep up their communication skills and adjust to each upcoming opponent as needed.
"I couldn't be more proud," she said. "These young women, they are consistently coming in and just day in and day out, pushing not only themselves, but pushing each other and consistently wanting to be better and get better."
Plum said she is feeling good and excited about the team's upcoming matchup against Walla Walla. She and her fellow sophomores are excited to see what this team can accomplish in these final few weeks together.
"We're all looking at it as this is our final goodbye to Big Bend, and we're not taking it for granted," said Plum. "A lot of people are looking at us and seeing us as underdogs and that's a great way to see us because we do put up a fight, we do put up big blocks, we do put up good defense."
The Vikings begin their stretch of road games Friday against Walla Walla at 6 p.m. Big Bend will return home for Sophomore Night Nov. 6 against Wenatchee Valley at 6 p.m.
BOX SCORE
BMTN: 14-11-25-25: 1
BBCC: 25-25-20-27: 3