Moscow keeps cruising toward state

Call it an audition for the 4A state volleyball tournament.

Behind a varied attack and air-tight defense, the undefeated Moscow Bears waltzed past the Lake City Timberwolves 25-20, 25-17, 25-19 in an Inland Empire League match Thursday between conference leaders at LC, the site late next month for the 4A state tourney.

“It felt good and I hope we can play like that at state,” said Moscow’s towering 6-foot-3 middle hitter Kelsey Taylor. “We played close to as well as we have played all season. We knew it was going to be a tough (match). We wanted to come out and take them quick.”

Moscow established dominance at the net early and then relied on a ball-control defense to feed the ball back to a diversified front row.

Taylor, who gave the University of Idaho an oral commitment this summer, had a match-high 11 kills to go along with four blocks. Teammate Meredith Dolny had 10 kills and 11 digs.

“Everybody on our team is talented,” Taylor said. “Everybody has something to offer. We’re really lucky. We have weaknesses at times, but we had a really good game tonight.”

If Moscow had any weaknesses Thursday, they weren’t evident.

Moscow, which raised its overall record to 12-0, completed the first round of IEL play at 6-0. LC slipped to 8-5 and 5-2.

“They’re very solid all around,” LC first-year coach Jen Owen said. “They’re at a level that the other teams in our league aren’t at yet. They give us something to strive towards.”

LC never backed down, but the T-Wolves never could sustain a consistent attack. Senior outside hitter Lynn Hoppert had a team-high six kills for a limited attack.

But it didn’t matter as Moscow showed it was at a level that no team could have defended Thursday.

“If we play to our full potential, we can be unstoppable,” Taylor said.

Owen believes Moscow is ready for state with just more than a month left in the regular season.

“The stage is ready for them,” Owen said. “They’re stepping up to that platform right now.”

Moscow coach Aimee Graham challenged her team to make a statement early.

“I definitely think we stepped up,” Graham said. “We were excited about playing (LC). We knew they were going to be competitive. We’ve been rivals in a sense that we’re competing for the IEL (title). We were ready mentally for this.”

Graham said she’d take the level of her team’s play Thursday to state.

“Absolutely,” she said. “We definitely have our minds set on being state champions. These girls just love to play. They have a lot of fun on the court.”

Owen said LC will benefit from the match – especially later in the season.

“We take a lot of positives out of this,” Owen said. “Tonight was a teachable moment for us.”

Both LC and Moscow will be at the 12-team Lakeland Invite on Saturday.