Volleyball finishes third at state

The girls volleyball team finished third at the state volleyball tournament held at Lane Community College on Friday and Saturday, November 8-9. Crook County took championship honors, Cascade was runner-up. Ridgeview took fourth and Hidden Valley finished fifth.

Sisters started the tourney Friday morning with a match against Banks and won in four sets with scores of 25-11, 25-20, 21-25 and 25-23.

The Outlaws were primed and ready, and in the first set were firing on all cylinders. The team crushed the ball, dug the ball and served tough. The Braves were unable to put up much defense against the Outlaws attack. Nila Lukens served a string of seven serves, including three aces, to push the Outlaws to a comfortable lead.

In the second set, Banks picked up their game and did a much better job of digging the ball, blocking and passing the ball. Sisters kept control of the set and pulled off the win.

Sisters fell into the same pattern in the third set as they have all year. The Outlaws lost their focus and let down their guard, and the Braves posted the win. The fourth set was back and forth the entire time but Sisters stayed strong to the end to win the match.

"The girls were very excited and happy with the win," said Coach Miki McFadden. "We came in with high expectations and knew we had to win this first one or it would be all over and we'd head into consolation just like we did last year."

Isabel Tara led the offense with 23 kills, followed by Allie Spear who finished with 17 kills and 20 digs. Lukens tallied 10 kills in the match.

Alex Hartford dished out 35 assists and Katelyn Meeter added 16. Savannah Spear had 18 digs and Jesse Farr-Baenziger had her best match of the year and finished with 16 digs.

McFadden noted Allie Spear for her strong performance. Spear served strong, passed well and mixed up her hits.

The Outlaws advanced to the semi-finals against Cascade on Friday night. Earlier in the season Sisters lost to the Cougars in a very close match and were looking forward to playing against them again.

Cascade beat the Outlaws in three sets with scores of 20-25, 23-25, and 8-25.

McFadden said the Outlaws were on a roll in the first set and were in the lead. The game quickly turned around and the Cougars started to block the ball. Cascade's libero did a fantastic job, didn't allow anything to hit the ground, and the Cougars posted the win.

Sisters found themselves way down in the second set. They did battle back but it was just a bit too late. The Cougars stayed strong with their digs, blocks and serves and won the set.

The Outlaws couldn't get it together in the third set and spiraled downward.

McFadden said, "We just kept going down and they stayed strong. We hit the ball low and a lot of our balls went into the net and out of bounds."

Lukens had 11 kills, Tara recorded nine, and Allie Spear added six. Allie also tallied 18 digs and Savannah Spear added eight.

Haylie Hudson came in as setter in the second set, did a fabulous job for the Outlaws and recorded eight assists.

Sisters licked their wounds and prepared to face Hidden Valley (HV) in a match that would give the winner a third-place finish and the loser a fifth place finish. The Outlaws knew they'd have their work cut out for them and buckled down and took care of business in a long, hard-fought match.

The Outlaws defeated the Mustangs in five sets with scores of 25-9, 25-17, 20-25, 23-25 and 15-7.

Sisters played with confidence and took the first two sets. Then, the tide turned and the Outlaws lost their momentum, struggled with their passes, couldn't keep the ball in the court and lost the next two matches.

"Once again we lost our focus, committed a lot of errors and hit the ball out," said McFadden. "But, we hung in there and in the final set were successful with our hits, digs and serves."

Lukens served strong in the final set to give the Outlaws a lead and Katelyn Meeter and Annika Stadeli's serves locked the win.

"Before the game the girls we a little down about last night's loss," stated McFadden. "But they love to compete and play and they came out ready. It was a big win for us. We came in ranked No. 5 and we got third. We did a really nice job and were successful."

Tara led the Outlaws with 20 kills. Allie Spear recorded 17 kills and two aces and Nila Lukens tallied 12 kills and two aces.

Hartford posted 28 assists and two aces and Meeter added 19 assists and three aces. Savannah and Allie Spear led the defense with solid passes.

Three players were named to all-tournament teams, including Lukens, Tara and Allie Spear. Nila was a first-team selection, and Isabel and Allie were second-team picks.

"Nila caught the attention of the coaches because she jumps so well," said McFadden. "She hits the ball down and she's always putting up a block to pressure the other team. Isabel and Allie get more sets and so they get a lot of kills. They both played strong the entire tournament."