The atmosphere Thursday night inside the Brick House didn’t feel like a routine volleyball game.

Fans and students walked to their seats in anticipation of what would be the biggest game of the Cowapa League season so far. They were not disappointed as Astoria High School and Scappoose engaged in a heavyweight fight that could only be described as a battle of right hooks and left jabs.

After Scappoose defeated Astoria in their first matchup, the Fishermen knew they had to win on Thursday to keep their hopes of a Cowapa League title alive. It took five thrilling sets, but the Fishermen prevailed to claim a huge midseason victory.

Astoria won the first set 25-21, only to see Scappoose battle back to win the second, 28-26. The pattern continued with Astoria taking set three in dominating fashion, 25-11, Scappoose survived a furious Astoria comeback to win set four 25-22. Then the Fishermen won set five 15-9 to claim the victory.

It took a team effort by the Fishermen to absorb the big hits and counters by the Indians, but the young team continues to grow with each match they play.

Senior Taeja Tuimato came up big at the service line and hitting as she went a perfect 19/19 with five aces. She added in 10 kills. Freshman Kyah Gohr was 15/16 from the service line with three aces, while leading the Fishermen with 15 kills and four blocks. Junior Emery Young had 11 kills and two blocks on the night.

The victory puts Astoria in position to win the Cowapa League if they win the rest of their games or Scappoose slips up like they did against St. Helens, but head coach Eric Gohr said there’s lots of volleyball left to play and anything can happen.

Lows and highs for Knappa volleyball

Thursday night could be described as the classic high-low effect for Knappa High School volleyball.

Knappa won the first two sets against Vernonia 25-23 and looked to be on their way to another victory. But Vernonia fought back and won the last three sets to stun Knappa 25-21, 25-22 and 15-11. This was the second time Knappa and Vernonia have played five sets.

The Loggers bounced back on Saturday afternoon against Columbia Christian. For the second time this season, Knappa dispatched the winless Knights, this time in three sets. After winning in four sets previously, the Loggers won 25-14, 25-14 and 25-14.

The win moves Knappa’s record to 2-11 on the regular season and 2-7 in league play.

Clatsop Clash sees soccer teams split

Thursday was also the first Clatsop Clash of the year for boys and girls soccer. The results were split evenly for Seaside and Astoria high schools.

Seaside boys soccer started the night off by winning 2-0 over Astoria. Alan Martinez and Abraham Valezquez scored the goals for the Seagulls as they claimed the road win. The win moved Seaside to 4-2-1 on the season and 2-0-1 in league play, which is second behind 3-0-0 Tillamook.

Astoria girls soccer extended their winning streak to three in a row as they beat their Clatsop rivals 3-1.

Since the start of league play, the Fishermen have scored 14 goals and have a 21-9 goal differential on the season. The win also sees them atop the Cowapa League with a perfect 3-0-0 record as they get ready to face second-place Scappoose on Thursday evening at CMH Field.