Volleyball team finishes fifth at state tournament

The Lady Outlaws took a fifth-place finish at the Girls 4A State Tournament on Friday and Saturday, November 11-12, at Lane Community College. Crook County claimed the state crown with their win over Hidden Valley in the championship match.

Sisters started the tourney with a 25-15, 25-15 and 25-21 win over LaGrande on Friday morning. The Outlaws handled the Bulldogs, the No. 1 seed from the Greater Oregon League, in three straight sets. It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment when the squad realized they'd won the quarterfinal game on 11/11/11 at 11:11 a.m.

Bailey Bremer, No. 11, led the Outlaws with 11 kills, followed by Megan Minke who finished the match with seven kills and three blocks. Sydney Stoneback logged 28 digs and Shannon Fouts dished out 26 assists.

Friday evening, the Outlaws lost to the Hidden Valley Mustangs, the No. 1 seed from the Skyline League, in a five-game marathon match. Scores in the match were 21-25, 14-25, 25-22, 25-22 and 6-15.

Coach Diane Bremer told The Nugget that the Mustangs are a very good team, and the Outlaws knew the caliber of athletes they would be up against. One player in particular, senior Bailey Bars, gave the Outlaws a particularly tough time. Bars, a left-handed hitter, serves up a tough top spin jump serve that was difficult for the Outlaws to return and was what really hurt them in the final set.

In game three, Bremer mixed up the lineup a bit to give the Mustangs something different to look at. Freshman Nila Lukens entered the game and proved to be very effective for Sisters. Lukens played in both game three and four and recorded eight kills with no errors.

Chelsea Reifschneider contributed 11 kills in the third.

"Chelsea did a good job of getting above the block and hitting the ball to deep corners," said Bremer.

Shannon Fouts recorded 27 assists, and Sydney Stoneback had 23 digs with no errors.

"Sydney played a phenomenal match against a very high-caliber team," said Bremer.

Bremer told The Nugget that the Outlaws struggled a bit from the service line and gave away points that they couldn't afford to give away, which hurt them in the end.

"We knew it would be tough getting past Hidden Valley, but we were highly anticipating the match," said Bremer. "To go five games with them was great. We just didn't come out where we wanted to."

Sisters' final match for third place on Saturday was against Banks. The Outlaws once again suffered a disappointing loss in a brutal five-set match. Scores of the match were 22-25, 25-22, 17-25, 25-21 and 5-15.

Chelsea Reifschneider led the team with 12 kills, followed by Bailey Bremer who finished with eight.

"Chelsea had a great performance," said Bremer. "In the last two matches she was really determined and was very successful at the left side."

Michaela Meeter had 10 blocks, which helped keep the Outlaws in the match. Kristina Sparling contributed five kills and three blocks and Fouts dished out 28 assists. Stoneback logged 31 digs with only two errors.

The Outlaws tightened up their serving and their service errors dropped significantly compared to their match against the Mustangs.

"Overall, we had a lot of digging and passing errors, especially in game five," said Bremer. "We had trouble passing the ball on serve receive."

A highlight for the Lady Outlaws was the announcement that libero Sydney Stoneback was chosen first-team all-tournament.

"We were all just exuberant when her name was called," said Bremer. "She was rock solid and did everything she possibly could to provide a platform for us to be successful offensively."

Bremer added, "All in all, we were blessed to have been at state. We had great fan support, and its always an honor to be at the final eight tournament representing our community. I'm proud of the team. They all played with a lot of composure and heart."