Volleyball team drops first league match of season

The Lady Outlaws volleyball team lost their first league match of the season in a five-game marathon at Marist on October 15.

Just a day earlier, Sisters defeated Junction City in three straight sets.

It was a well-fought match at Marist on Thursday night. Sisters won the first two games and then lost the next three. Scores for the match were 25-21, 25-22, 18-25, 20-25 and 13-15.

Offensively, the Lady Outlaws were not able to defend against Marist's 6-foot-2-inch middle, Allie Rogers, and Sisters' unforced errors at the net gave the Spartans the advantage.

Libero Jessie Snow had a stellar performance and led the defense with 40 digs on the night. Courtney Satko had 20 digs and Kaity Douglass finished with 16 digs at right back. Douglass never stepped off the court, did an amazing job at the setter position and recorded 42 assists.

"Kaity, coming off being sick, played with all the heart you could ask of a player," said Coach Diane Bremer. "She was efficient running our offense and did a good job blocking at the net when she was front row."

Hannah Harrer led the offense with 16 kills and nine blocks. Haylee Schaab had 12 kills on the night and Satko added five.

Sisters was impressive at the service line and missed only three serves in the five-game match.

"It was a tough match, and the girls did not want to let this one slip away," said Bremer. "We will take it as a learning experience and come back more prepared for our next opponent."

A day earlier, Sisters defeated the Billies of Pleasant Hill in three straight sets. Scores for the night were 25-19, 25-19 and 25-12.

Schaab, who missed the Seaside Tournament last weekend due to illness, was back on the squad and had an outstanding performance for the Lady Outlaws. Schaab led the offense with 10 kills, 10 digs and three blocks. Satko also had an impressive game at right side, which included eight kills.

Courtney hit a few back quicks that went straight to the floor, said Coach Diane Bremer.

Harrer also had eight kills and three blocks in the match. Freshman Megan Minke recorded five kills in the middle and had two blocks. Mary Jane Schulte added three kills on the night.

Libero Jessie Snow led the defense with 12 digs and setter Kaity Douglass dished out 36 assists and went 12 for 13 from the service line with two aces.

"Some of our hitters were returning from sickness and our stamina was a little diminished, but the team had good energy tonight and we managed to get the job done," said Bremer.

Last week, Saturday, October 10, the Lady Outlaws traveled to Seaside for the annual Seaside Invitational Tournament.

Sisters was short two of their power hitters, Haylee Schaab and Hannah Harrer, who did not make the trip due to illness. The Outlaws split games with Astoria, 10-25 and 25-19, defeated Newport 25-20, 25-22 and beat Stayton 25-16, 25-22 to finish in the number one position in pool play.

Bremer told The Nugget that the first game after pool play the girls played a bit sluggish but then stepped it up the remainder of the morning.

"With our two big hitters out, it gave some other players a chance to really have their day and they delivered," said Bremer. "Mary Jane (Schulte), Chelsea (Reifschneider), Lizzy (Carhart) and Megan (Minke) all did a good job of making the team work in a different rotation."

The Outlaws were defeated by Sheridan, the reigning 3A state champions, in bracket play.

"We definitely dropped our level of play against them," said Bremer. "Sheridan came out tough and played a very aggressive match. We knew we could have played them better but unforced errors took us out of the match. All in all it was a good day and really pushed us as a team to excel. I think the girls really found out how deep they are and what they are capable of achieving."

Sisters leads the Sky-Em Conference with a 7-1 record in league play. Marist holds second place at 7-2. The Lady Outlaws face the Hawks at La Pine on Tuesday, October 20. Seniors will be honored at the home match against Elmira on Thursday, October 22.