FERNDALE— Ferndale volleyball couldn’t keep up with No. 2-ranked 2A Burlington-Edison during a straight-set defeat (25-16, 25-10, 25-13) in a Northwest Conference match Tuesday, Oct. 1 at home.
Burlington-Edison’s Lexie Mason finished the night with 17 kills, six aces and four blocks. Teammate Mia Whitlock had seven kills, two aces and a block. Ferndale’s Terrace Hendrickson led the Golden Eagles with five kills.
Both teams had a sloppy start in the first set, combining for eight errors in the first 15 points. However, Burlington-Edison began to find some rhythm when Mason picked up five kills during an 11-2 run. She finished the set with a cross-court kill landing on the line.
Gallery: Ferndale volleyball is swept by Burlington-Edison
Ferndale, ranked No. 21 in Class 3A, took an early lead in the second set from a Tigers’ service error.
Burlington-Edison then scored 11 consecutive points to take an 11-1 lead. During that run, Amelia Ray trickled the ball over the net to score six of her seven total aces during the match. Ferndale’s Lay Williams and Hendrickson broke the streak with a pair of kills.
Mason stopped Ferndale’s comeback opportunity with a block-kill and forced a Ferndale attacking error to win the second set.
The Tigers held a slim 9-6 lead against the Golden Eagles in the third set. The Tigers had a handful of attacking and service errors while Williams picked up another kill. Whitlock expanded the lead with two straight aces and a kill later in the set to take a 17-11 lead.
Mason scored three straight aces and Madeline Squibb put the Tigers at match point with a kill. Ferndale ended the match with an error to lose the match.
The Golden Eagles (5-3, 5-1 NWC) will face Nooksack Valley (3-3, 3-3 NWC) at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, while Burlington-Edison (7-1, 6-0 NWC) will also return to the court at 7 p.m. Thursday against Lakewood (4-3, 4-2 NWC).
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.