News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Lady Outlaws volleyball team went to the state tournament in Corvallis last week with high hopes, but they returned without a trophy.
The girls finished ninth out of 16 teams after losing to Lakeview and Rainier.
The finish was a disappointment to the Capital Conference champions, who had their eyes on the prize.
"I think we were really set for number one, though we were going to take state one step at a time," said senior co-captain Anna Summerfield.
The Lady Outlaws played well throughout the tournament, but they never recovered from a first-round loss at the hands of a vengeful Lakeview squad. Sisters had defeated the team in a tournament earlier this year and Lakeview came into the tournament gunning for the Outlaws.
"The Lakeview team played flawless (volleyball)," said coach Brad Bulloch. "We played a lot of defense, but we couldn't get any offense going."
The Outlaws went down 8-15, 2-15.
The Outlaws came back strong to soundly trounce Ontario, 15-10, 15-8, but then they stumbled against Rainier.
The Outlaws started tough, with Krista Gardinier and Jocelyn Evered dominating the net both on offense and defense. Solid throughout the tournament, Sara McMeekin anchored the team in a 13-1 win in the first game.
The Outlaws had Rainier down 12-8 in the second frame, but "we just couldn't close the door on those guys," Bulloch said.
"I don't know what happened," Summerfield said. "We just let up mentally."
The Outlaws continued to play well, but the momentum lurched against them. Rainier took the second game 15-12 and finished the Outlaws in the third, 15-9.
The rough run at state didn't diminish the rest of the season for Bulloch or his players.
"All in all it was a pretty good year for us," Bulloch said. "We did a lot of things well and had some fun along the way."
Kendle Deaderick, Krista Gardinier, Kirstyn Everson and Jocelyn Evered won first-team all-league honors in the Capital Conference. Sara McMeekin, Elizabeth Mount and Anna Summerfield won honorable mention. Bulloch was named Coach of the Year.
With most of the team returning next year, the Lady Outlaws should have another solid team.
"A lot of the seniors next year will be strong," said Summerfield.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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