Patriots overcome deficit, defeat Thunder

EDWALL - In a thrilling display of resilience and teamwork, the Christian Heritage High School Patriots outlasted the Kootenai High School Thunder in a four-set volleyball battle on Thursday, Sept. 11, with scores of 25-14, 14-25, 26-24, and 25-11.

The Patriots dominated the first set, led by an eight-point serving run from sophomore Seyler Lacy. Kootenai responded in the second set, securing a 25-14 victory. The third set was tightly contested, with junior Maiyah Miller delivering a nine-point serving run to clinch a 26-24 win for Christian Heritage. In the fourth set, Lacy added seven points, junior Addison Benner contributed six, and senior Kelley Pendell tallied five to seal the 25-11 victory.

Christian Heritage head coach Adrienne Benner praised the team's performance.

"We kept our composure and served really well," Benner said. "Our win tonight was due to excellent serving and playing cohesively as a team. Our team is small but mighty."

Benner highlighted standout performances.

"Maiyah Miller was great with her serving, Seyler Lacy was strong with her blocking, and Kelley Pendell showed excellent teamwork and assists," Benner said. "We had a huge deficit in game three, but we came back, and we're really proud of that."

Looking ahead to their next match in Pasco on Monday, Benner remained confident.

"They're going to be gunning for us next time, and we're going to be ready," Benner said.

Kootenai head coach Elizabeth Knight acknowledged her team's efforts despite the loss.

"We were really focusing on getting our communication up and being aggressive on our attacks, which we accomplished," Knight said. "Even though we didn't come away with the win, we're happy with that progress."

Knight singled out freshman Alexis Ball for her varsity debut.

"Alexis Ball stepped into a tough role and showed a lot of maturity for a freshman," Knight said. "She was anxious at first and made some mistakes, but she realigned and contributed well."

Knight also praised her setters.

"Both setters were highlights for us," Knight said. "One is brand new, and the other hasn't set in a long time. That's a tough position at the varsity level, and they were so consistent."

Kootenai plans to focus on fundamentals moving forward.

"We're going to work on controlling chaos when the first ball doesn't go as planned and keeping the ball in play consistently," Knight said. "Communication is always something we need to improve, but we're happy with the progress this week."