Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

Del Norte and Arcata continued to keep pressure on the Eureka Loggers with victories in their respective games on Tuesday night.

The Warriors continued to roll at McKinleyville and won in straight sets (25-11, 25-11, 25-21), as did the Tigers at Fortuna, where they won 25-7, 25-10, 25-12.

With their victories, both schools improved to 5-2 in conference play with one game remaining each.

The Eureka Loggers, who had a bye in conference on Tuesday, remain alone atop the standings with a record of 5-1 and two games remaining.

On Thursday, Eureka hosts Fortuna and Arcata hosts McKinleyville, before conference play closes out next Tuesday, including a pivotal showdown in Crescent City between the Warriors and Loggers.

Nora Brumbaugh continued to play well for the Tigers on Tuesday and finished with a team-high 10 kills as well as three aces, while teammate Pearl Smith also impressed and added four saves and 20 service points with a big night serving.

Harper Appy also helped set her teammates up for success with a team-high 20 assists and four aces.

“We were very happy with our play tonight,” Arcata head coach Laurie Griffith said. “Everything was working and all our hitters got kills.”

In addition to Smith’s big night serving, Brumbaugh, Appy and Kyla Kinyon each also impressed serving.

The Tigers will honor their seniors before Thursday’s game against McKinleyville.

No stats were immediately available for the Huskies.

At McKinleyville, meanwhile, the Del Norte girls started strong and maintained the momentum in their straight sets win.

Senior Kansas Coulson had another good game for the visitors and has been particularly influential in recent games.

“We are growing every match,” coach Petra Lorenzi said. “Kansas Coulson has come through strong the last couple weeks as we keep trying to grow into a more advanced offense.”

The Warriors, who have a bye in conference on Thursday, will prepare themselves for next Tuesday’s big showdown at the Marshville tournament in Coos bay this weekend.

“It will be a great prep for Eureka seeing bigger hitters and well trained size on the other side of the net (at Coos Bay),” Lorenzi said. 

The Panthers grew into the game after some early struggles and continue to build as a team.

“We ended stronger than we started once the girls got out of their heads, just played and had fun,” Panthers head coach Ashley Washburn said. “I’m proud of the girls for keeping their spirits up throughout the match.”

Washburn also praised the performance of the visitors, as they kept their title hopes on track.

“Del Norte is such a strong program and is a great learning opportunity for us each time we face them,” she said. 

It was also the Panthers’ annual Pink Night and they raised over $1,000.