Volleyball takes third at Cascade Tournament

The girls volleyball team tied for third place with Salem Academy behind Cascade and Philomath at the Cascade High School Tournament held on Saturday, September 7.

Sisters started the day with pool play and matched up against Central, North Marion and Scappoose. The Outlaws defeated Central 25-15, 25-10, beat North Marion 25-12, 25-7, and came out on top 25-12, 25-14 over Scappoose. The entire team served and passed the ball well, and the hitters had an easy time getting the ball over the net.

The Outlaws moved into bracket play and a maximum three-game match. Sisters rolled over Cottage Grove with scores of 25-9 and 25-8. Isabel Tara led Sisters with nine kills. Alex Hartford dished out 13 assists and Katelyn Meeter recorded 12.

Coach Miki McFadden noted Savannah Spears' almost-perfect passing.

"Savannah passed the ball very well," said McFadden. "She was 2.8 out of 3 which is very good."

Sisters advanced to the semi-finals and lost in three sets to Cascade. Scores were 25-19, 28-30 and 16-11. The Lady Cougars put up a nice block and were very scrappy on defense and dug everything that came to them.

"It was a well-played match on their part," said McFadden. "We fought hard and there were a lot of rallies. They really blocked well and mixed up their shots, and it threw us off our game."

Tara had 12 kills in the match, and Nila Lukens added 10. Hartford recorded 21 assists, and Savannah Spear tallied 16 digs.

Lukens also had six blocks, followed by Brenna Weems who had five.

The Spear sisters do 90 percent of the Outlaws' passing, and McFadden told The Nugget that the duo did a great job all day on serve receive.

Three days earlier, the Outlaws traveled to Madras with games against the White Buffaloes and Crook County.

Sisters earned a quick 25-15 win in their first set against the White Buffaloes, but then lost badly in the second set 11-25. The team rallied and came back to win the third and fourth sets 25-15, 25-15.

Meeter served nine straight in set three to get the Outlaws back in the game. Tara had 15 kills in the match, Lukens finished with 10 and Allie Spear and Brook Knirk each added eight. Hartford recorded 26 assists.

"These girls are young, but they know how to come back and play hard," said McFadden. "Nila (Lukens), Brooke (Knirk), Allie (Spear) and Isabel (Tara) all gave us a balanced attack."

The Outlaws fought a long, hard match against Crook County that went the full five games. Scores were 21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23 and 9-15.

Crook County's Hannah Troutman, who is one of the top players in the area, was at the top her game. She hit the ball with power and accuracy and picked up everything that came her way.

Tara led the Outlaws with 19 kills, followed by Lukens who recorded 14. Allie Spear and Peytan Zanck tallied 13 kills each. Hartford and Meeter combined for 40 assists. Knirk had eight kills and four blocks in the

match.

"We've got a great group of athletes," stated McFadden. "We are going to move ahead from here and improve."

The Outlaws will play at home against Summit on Thursday, September 12.