Girls split in first week of league volleyball

The Sisters girls varsity volleyball team got its first taste of league action last week, defeating Molalla at home and then losing a heart-breaker at Cascade.

On Tuesday, September 24, the Outlaws hosted Molalla and beat the Indians handily in four games; 25-14, 25-18, 23-25, 25-14.

"It was good to open in league play with a win," Coach Chris Crosby said. "It was also good that we got to play everybody."

Bethany Benhower led the attack with 10 kills. Stephanie Pledger contributed with 39 assists. On defense, Chelsea Hill had 16 digs.

The Outlaws then paid a visit to Cascade two days later to resume their rivalry with the Cougars.

"Everyone was looking forward to it," Crosby said. "We are probably the two top teams in the conference."

When the dust had settled, Sisters had lost a hard-fought battle in four games.

"Both teams played well; it's just that the other team came out with a win," the coach remarked. "We really fought hard. We were down 17-23 in the first game and scored eight points in a row to win 25-23. Then they trounced us in the second game, 25-17. It came down to crunch time, and they beat us in two close games, 25-23 and 25-22. Both games were tied at 22-all, but they just performed better than we did at the end."

Crosby was particularly pleased with his team's defense.

"Our team defense was awesome," he said. "We had 149 digs as a team, which shows what a battle it was. Chelsea Hill had 33 digs herself -- that's an amazing number."

He also singled out the play of Ashley Sweeney, who had four blocks.

The girls then went to the Madras Tournament on Saturday, September 28 and took fifth place. They began the day by upending La Pine 25-13 and 25-23. They then took it to the Bend JV in two games; 25-10 and 25-21.

Next up was a measure of revenge against Madras, which had defeated the Outlaws at the Sisters Tournament. Sisters lost the first game, 25-17, but came back and demolished the White Buffs, 25-10 to finish first in their pool.

Pleasant Hill, which went on to win the tournament, defeated the Outlaws 25-15, 25-23 in bracket play.

The Outlaws were to continue league action by visiting Sweet Home on Tuesday, October 1, and hosting North Marion on Thursday.