PORT ANGELES — The Roughriders volleyball team was game for an upset, but Sequim wouldn’t allow Port Angeles to get over the hump in each set of a 3-0 sweep.
The Wolves topped their rivals 25-18, 25-15, 25-15 in Thursday’s match.
“We just made too many unforced errors at the wrong times,” Riders coach Christine Halberg said.
Opportunities to wrest leads from Sequim came in each set, but every time hope flickered for Port Angeles, the veteran Wolves team stepped up to stop Rider runs.
In the first set, two straight aces by Cheyenne Sokkoppa gave the Wolves a 12-6 lead.
Port Angeles rallied to take a short-lived 15-14 advantage as Sequim was unable to get the ball across the net on three straight volleys.
But two straight aces by the Wolves’ Rylie Roberts, followed by a net ball by the Riders’ Kylie McVaugh and a ball hit out of bounds by Port Angeles libero Alyssa Wetzler, afforded Sequim all the cushion they would need.
The Wolves (4-0, 5-0) rattled off an 11-3 run to close the set.
Sequim started fast in the second set, going up 5-0 after a kill from Alyse Armstrong, but the Riders showed reserve, with kills from Genna Orr and Kiana Robideau helping pull the team within one, 9-8.
The teams traded points back and forth before the Wolves found a groove behind the serving of senior Emily Wallner.
An Armstrong block, two kills from Ella Christiansen and a double-tap violation on Port Angeles’ Emily Johnson helped push the Wolves to an 19-12 lead.
The Wolves wrapped the set with a serve into the net from Wetzler and a long return out of bounds from Johnson for a 25-15 win.
Sequim rolled to a 6-0 lead in the third set before the Riders tied things up at 6-all on a five-point serving run from Julia Frazier.
Orr had a kill and a block during the run, but Armstrong added a kill for Sequim to quickly take back the lead.
Wolves libero Emma LeBlanc pushed Sequim to a 12-6 lead, with an ace and an assist on a kill by Wallner.
LeBlanc saved many long returns from Port Angeles on the night, allowing Sequim’s taller front line of Wallner, Christiansen and Armstrong to concentrate on converting offensively.
“LeBlanc was like a vacuum back there,” Sequim coach Jennie Webber Heilman said.
LeBlanc finished with 22 digs for the Wolves.
Port Angeles could come no closer than 14-11, with two kills by Armstrong, and a kill and a block by Christiansen pushing Sequim to a 20-12 lead.
“We’re going to have be more focused,” Webber Heilman said.
“We can’t allow teams to come back on us like we did tonight. When we play tougher teams, this type of thing could hurt us.”
________
Sports reporter Michael Carman can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
