HS Volleyball: WF West Keeps Playoff Hopes Alive in Five Set Win over Aberdeen

10/21/25

(Chehalis, WA) Senior night always brings with it a special energy that fills the air. One last opportunity for the seniors to play on their home field or court but for the WF West Bearcats on Tuesday night, it also came with added pressure. A loss to the Aberdeen Bobcats would deal a huge blow to the Bearcats hopes of making the District 4 2A volleyball pigtail round while a Bobcat win would almost solidify their spot in the postseason. Aberdeen swept WF West in the first meeting but the Bearcats were looking for a little Senior night magic to keep hope alive.

WF West 3, Aberdeen 2 (21-25, 25-22, 26-24, 14-25, 15-8)

Aberdeen got off to a blazing hot start, scoring seven of the first eight points behind a couple of aces from Mia Hallak. She would serve five points in a row before Jaylynn Milton served five in a row herself. Dallyn Williams was a force at the net early and did not wait for the Bobcats to set anything up but just relentlessly hammered kill attempts. After falling behind 21-9, WF West began to surge back into it. Momentum shifted behind Ariana Wheaton who caught fire for the Bearcats while Madelynn Panther had a block party at the net. They would fight back but the Aberdeen lead was too big as they took the opening set 25-21.

Set #2 was much more back and forth in the early going with neither side able to put together a run. Wheaton continued her momentum from the opening set but it would be Jaden Jensen and Aubrey Prigmore going on runs at the service line for six and five points respectively. Vivy Witchey and Madelynn Panther continued to block everything at the net as the Bearcats pulled ahead 20-10. This time, Aberdeen would show fight and storm back late. Hallak served seven consecutive for the Bobcats while Madi Ritter and Hadley Lowery led the attack at the net. Just like the opening set, the deficit was too much to overcome as the Bearcats evened it up with a 25-22 win.

A pivotal third set would be the most even of the entire match. Both sides leaned on their liberos on the back line in Sophie Knutson for Aberdeen and Aspen Gist for WF West to handle some tricky serves. The teams went back and forth both when they made great plays and then when they had errors as well. A three-point run by Ariana Wheaton included two aces to help WF West gain a bit of separation. The score would be evened thanks to a couple of aces by Knutson and it was 24-24. Back-to-back hard fought points went to WF West as they took the set 26-24 to go up 2-1.

With their backs up against the wall, Aberdeen saved their best set for the 4th. The Bobcats dominated the must-win set thanks to Sophie Knutson. The junior served six points in a row with four aces to widen the lead to 19-10 as Madi Ritter got going at the net for Aberdeen. Mia Hallak was once again the centerpiece of the Aberdeen attack as she spread out her passes to keep the Bearcats on their toes. Aberdeen would pull away with the fourth set 25-14 to send it to a winner-take-all fifth set.

It felt at times like each side would pull away to begin the final set with WF West getting three points served by Amanda Linwood before Mia Hallak answered back with a three-point run for Aberdeen. Ariana Wheaton would be the difference maker with six points in a row from the line but it was her teammates finishing off the points. Emma McGreal turned it up a notch in the final sets while Panther and Witchey continued to impress up front. Jaden Jensen also did a great job setting up her teammates while Allison Smitherman and Kyleigh Connolly both caught fire in the final set. WF West opened their lead and didn’t let Aberdeen cut into it as the Bearcats took set five 15-8 to win the match 3-2.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the match went to Ariana Wheaton for WF West. The senior celebrated senior night with a dominant performance in every aspect, catching fire at the net, putting together terrific runs from the service line, and being a leader and team player setting up teammates and leading the communication. Wheaton was extremely consistent and helped the Bearcats turn things around after a rough start

WF West keeps their playoff hopes alive and moves to 5-9 and 2-5 in Evergreen 2A play. The Bearcats will head over to Centralia for a rivalry match on Thursday night at 7pm. Aberdeen falls to 8-5 on the year and 2-5 in EvCo 2A play and into a tie with WF West for the final playoff spot. The Bobcats will look to get back on track on Thursday at home with Shelton.

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