Eagles flex talons, thwart Elks

Wednesday marked the second meeting between the Elk Creek and Princeton high schools in two weeks, as the two teams squared off in another heated conference battle, with the Eagles flying away with the 25-12, 25-19, 25-13 victory.

The first game went Princeton's way from the start, as the Eagles took a 10-4 lead right out of the gate, but Elk Creek rallied thanks to kills from both Shelby Carpenter and Kayleen Swearinger, while Amanda Dock made two of her many digs on the night in the first.

Despite Elk Creek bouncing back, Princeton's Amanda Hansen and Maryssa Martin added kills, with Hansen acing the Elks as well, helping Princeton take the first game 25-12.

Hansen totaled a team-high eight aces on the night, while racking up four kills. Martin followed with seven aces and led the team in kills with 11.

A few Eagles errors in Game 2 gave the Elks a boost, but Hansen continued her night's icy service game, sending in three aces during the second, with teammate Martin grabbing five of her seven in the second game. Marisela Valencia also added an ace to her team's already stellar service night.

Again Elk Creek tried for the comeback and made headway, thanks to the cool-headedness of Kashaya Bill, who racked up two aces in a row during the latter part of the game. Swearinger put another ace into the corner and out of the hands of any Eagles, but Princeton couldn't be caught and the visitors grabbed the second game 25-19.

The Eagles came out again with a hot service game, as Hansen aced the home team, followed by two aces from Miranda Perez, who racked up four on the night. After Elk Creek regained control of service for a few minutes, Princeton took it back, as Lauren Ferreira aced the Elks three times, helping to seal the deal and send the Eagles down the hill win the win.

Elk Creek head coach Jill Swearinger praised her teams' effort and lauded their hard work commenting, "I'm proud of them. They're working well as a team and doing really well. They are enjoying themselves and learning lots, and that is what it is all about."

Princeton coach Matt Harvey was equally pleased with his side's' win, saying, "They played consistent. Girls came off the bench and got some time and were ready to go immediately. They're starting to really click as a team. There are four league games left in the season, and our goal is to take them all and hopefully play well into the playoffs."

The Lady Elks (2-13 overall) took to the road on Thursday to face off against Redding Adventist, while Princeton (17-8 overall) also hit the asphalt again, traveling to play at Providence on Thursday evening.

CONTACT Emily Saint-Evens at 824-7990 or esaintevens@tcnpress.com