LEWISTON, Idaho — The Walla Walla Women's Volleyball team earned two victories at the Hells Canyon Grand Invitational at the P1FCU Activity Center on Friday, and upset a ranked opponent for the first time in program history.
"It feels really surreal, it feels like how I see them practice all translated onto the court today," head coach Kiana Krumm said. "I love seeing how the other team pushed and we responded and pushed back. I just couldn't be more proud."
The Wolves (3-1) started the day with a four set win against Arizona Christian 21-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-16. In the afternoon it was No. 11 Montana Western that fell victim to Walla Walla as the pack came out strong with a 25-16, 25-21, 25-17 sweep.
Junior Sahara Browning became the first player in team history to pass the 700 career milestone with a total of 42 kills on the day. The junior has 62 kills in the first three matches of the season.
"Sahara brings passion, Sahara brings fire and she pushes. She pushes every point and every detail," Krumm said. "That is why she is the captain."
Yaimaris Garcia made an instant impact in her season debut as she filled the stat sheet in both matches. In the victory against the Firestorm, Garcia had a triple-double as she led the team with 29 assists, with 14 digs and 11 kills. The freshman from Camaguey, Cuba nearly had another triple-double in the second match with 21 assists, 12 digs and nine kills.
"(Garcia) brings a lot of stability to the team, a lot of leadership to the team and what is really special about her is that she can set and she can hit so we have her just doing double," Krumm said. "She just brings a lot to the team."
Vicky Giardina had 27 digs combined in the two victories, Paula Flores had 22 kills and four aces and Lauren Moody had eight blocks on the day.
The Wolves did not allow a player on either Arizona Christian or Montana Western to reach double figures in kills and dominated the kill stat 106-56 on the day.
Here is how the action happened in the two matches.
MATCH ONE: Walla Walla def. Arizona Christian 3-1 (21-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-16)
Garcia made her presence known right away with a service ace to start the match. The Firestorm jumped out to an early 6-3 lead, but the Wolves answered back. A service error ended the run, Browning had a kill, WWU took advantage of two attack errors and Garcia put one away and the pack led 8-6.
The first set went back and forth and was tied at 19 before ACU took the lead for good with an attack error by Myckayla Shaver. The Firestorm won six of the final eight points to earn the opening set victory.
Shaver spiked home a kill to start the second set and the Wolves jumped out to a 10-6 advantage before Arizona Christian called a timeout. Walla Walla never gave up the lead and after the Firestorm cut the lead to one, 14-13, the Wolves went on the attack.
Browning had three kills in a five point span, Flores put one away and WWU forced five attack errors to win 10 of the next 12 to set up set point. Three points later it was Flores with a kill to even up the match.
ACU started strong in the third set with a 5-2 advantage, but a service error changed the momentum. Garcia had a kill, Browning added two of her own and six straight points went to the pack. The Firestorm battled back to tie the set at nine, but that was when Walla Walla caught fire. Garcia took an assist from Deshy Sandoval and the Wolves to start the run and eventually led 14-10. Zuri Reeser answered with a kill for Arizona Christian, but after a kill by Natalia Jimenez it was Paula Flores at the service line for a long time for Walla Walla. The Wolves scored nine consecutive points and Browning eventually closed out the set with a kill.
The fourth set saw an 8-3 run to start the set by WWU and a 7-0 run later to push the Wolves' advantage to 21-13. Browning, Garcia and Flores each earned a kill in consecutive points and Walla Walla stamped the victory with a service error by Ryan Coughlin of Arizona Christian.
MATCH TWO: Walla Walla def. No. 11 Montana Western (25-16, 25-21, 25-17)
The Wolves wasted no time jumping on their ranked opponent. The Bulldogs had back-to-back attack errors and Jimenez put one away to give WWU a 3-0 early lead. That lead was pushed 8-2 after back to back aces by Sandoval before Montana Western called a timeout.
Flores capped off another 3-0 run for the Wolves to make it 15-6. Later in the set it was Browning with two kills and Flores with an ace to make it a 10-point lead. The two teams traded points before a service error by Madisyn Frazier of Montana Western gave WWU the first set win.
The Bulldogs showed why they were ranked in the top 11 in the preseason poll with a quick attack in the second set. UMW led 7-3 after two consecutive aces by Megan Hardman. Browning had three kills in the next four points and two points later it was Flores again with a kill to tie the set up at 8-8. The Bulldogs regained the lead and went on a stretch where they won four-of-five points and led 14-11, but again the Wolves regrouped and went on the attack.
Flores had a kill and an ace, Browning had three kills and Jimenez added a kill of her own as WWU went on a 9-0 run to lead 20-14 that pushed through two UMW timeouts. Garcia created a set point with a kill, and four points later Flores locked up the second set.
Walla Walla pounced in the third set with six straight points to lead 6-2. Later in the third it was Browning with three consecutive kills and a block by Garcia and Moody to push the WWU advantage to 12-7.
The Bulldogs were unable to get within four points the rest of the set and a kill by Jimenez gave Walla Walla its largest lead of the third at 21-13. Garcia again put down a kill to push the game to match point and Flores and Moody combined for the block to make history for the Wolves.
UP NEXT
Walla Walla opens up Cascade Conference play with two tough matchups. The Wolves host RV Oregon Tech on Friday, Sept. 5 at 2 PM and No. 6 Southern Oregon on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 9 PM at Windemuth Court.
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