Bulldogs Fall To Towering Panthers

DAYTON - One look at the Asotin roster and it's easy to see why its volleyball team had at least one advantage in their threegame victory over the Bulldogs on Tuesday night.

Senior Panthers JaLisa Jose and McKayla Swearingen are both 5' 11" and they were both hitting hard and shielding their own court at the net like ramparts on a fort.

But that wasn't the only drive behind the Asotin's tough trouncing of Dayton's otherwise well-composed 2011 team.

"Last year, they were league champs and we took the ( district) title from them," Bulldogs head coach Shannon Turner said. "I knew they'd be out for blood."

The Panthers beat the Bulldogs, 25-21, 25-17 and 25-16.

Right from the beginning, Dayton had trouble with the two tall Asotin seniors.

"Asotin is a good team," Turner said. "They dominated at the net with hitting and blocking. They're big and strong. We're small, but we have our tactics."

Turner said the Bulldogs didn't use those tactics of good communication on defense to dig successfully or playing around the upfront blockers.

"We didn't communicate or gel as a team," she said. " We didn't come ready to play."

Dayton tried to hang on in third game, but Asotin spiked the ball over and over into a no-man's land in center court where the Bulldogs lacked a coordinated response.

Nicole Lambert had 5 kills and 17 digs, Shelby Smith had 5 kills, McKayla Bickelhaupt scored 5 kills and 11 digs, and Jessica Tate had 8 digs and served 10/10.

The Bulldogs were scheduled to play Walla Walla Valley Academy on Wednesday and participate in the Weston-McEwen tournament on Saturday.