The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The Lady Outlaws came through in the clutch in two very critical matches this week. On Monday, October 9, the Outlaws swept the Marist Spartans in three games. Two days later Sisters defeated Pleasant Hill in four games.

In the first match-up with Marist this season, the Outlaws lost in three games, but that wasn't the case the second time around. Sisters battled the Spartans to win with scores of 25-16, 25-20 and 26-24. Game three found the Outlaws down 10-5 and 16-11. Sisters continued to battle; the Spartans made a costly service error, and the Outlaws tied the game 22-22 and went on to win the game.

Becky Bremer finished the night with 14 digs and according to Coach Chris Crosby is playing very well and keeping a lot of balls in play.

Lanie Milroy and Felicia Pledger both had six kills. Kali Ulmer contributed five kills. Rachel Tenneson had four, and Leslee Zenich added three.

Crosby said, "Leslee keeps the other team's defense off balance. She hits the ball to places that no one else does."

"Our middles (Milroy and Tenneson) are really becoming a bigger part of our offense, and our hitters are being more aggressive and doing a good job of taking care of the ball," Crosby added.

Crosby commended Brook Goins for her solid defensive play in the back row and noted that freshman Haylee Schaab has been pulled up from the JV team and is getting better and more comfortable every day.

"Setters Katie Weber and Sam Stoneback are really showing the league how good they both are. We're running the most complex offense in our league. They're making better decisions all the time and are putting a lot of pressure on the other teams' defense," said Crosby.

Two days later the Outlaws battled through four games with the Billies of Pleasant Hill. The match was nip and tuck the entire way. Scores were 25-27, 25-22, 25-23 and 28-26.

Crosby's first words to The Nugget were, "I'm so glad we won that game! Holy mackerel!"

The highlight of the match came toward the end of the third game. The Billies went up by one point at two different times to make it game point.

"We put our lives on the line," said Crosby. "The kids executed, didn't freak out and took care of the ball. They tied it up both times and then went ahead to finish it off."

Brook Goins recorded the winning game kill for the Outlaws. Rachel Tenneson finished the night with nine kills, and Kali Ulmer added six. Becky Bremer had 19 digs on defense.

Bremer and Sam Stoneback had excellent performances at the service line. Bremer went 19 for 20, and Stoneback was perfect going 18 for 18 with three aces.

"It was a big, big, win." Said Crosby. "It was a defining point of the season and such a big win for our young team. We talked before the game about what was at stake, and the girls came through under tremendous pressure to win the match."

Only three matches remain for the Outlaws in conference play: Cottage Grove; La Pine; and Elmira, and Sisters beat them all in the first round of the season.

The Lady Outlaws will travel to La Pine on Thursday, October 19 and will host Cottage Grove on Saturday, October 21. The following Tuesday, Sisters will host its final league match of the season at home against Elmira.