Outlaws continue volleyball winning streak

Rongi Yost, Correspondent | Last updated Oct 20, 2015 12:0pm0

Jerry Baldock count

Payton Zanck with a kill vs. Elmira.

The Outlaws have been on fire all season long and this past week was no different. Sisters defeated Elmira and Junction City, and pushed their record to a perfect 9-0.

In Tuesday's action at home against Elmira, the Outlaws stymied the Falcons with scores of 25-10, 25-6, and 25-13. The entire squad got in a lot of playing time, and players got to mix it up and play in positions they normally never play during the season.

Jessie Brigham, the Outlaws' top-notch libero, went to outside hitter, and Allie Spear jumped in as libero. Kendra Sitz got in a lot of playing time, and got a look at playing in the middle. Cassidy Ling-Scott came in off the bench as setter and did an outstanding job finding the hitters.

Players who normally start for the Outlaws saw reduced playing time, handled it well, and cheered on their teammates from the bench.

Brooke Knirk and Peytan Zanck, who played middle, got a lot of great sets, which resulted in 12 kills for Knirk and six for Zanck. Hawley Harrer recorded seven kills in the match.

Brigham did a great job at the service line, going 22/23 with nine aces. Spear went 14/15 with three aces, and Zanck was seven-for-eight with one ace.

Alex Hartford dished out 20 assists and was seven-for eight from the line.

Two days later, the Outlaws played on the road at Junction City (JC). It was senior night for the Tigers, who were pumped up and ready to play in front of a big home crowd.

The Outlaws came out a bit flat and couldn't seem to get into a groove or rhythm, but got it together and prevailed with scores of 25-18, 25-13, and 25-18.

The team has been mending some minor aches and pains, which seemed to slow them down enough to keep JC in the game.

"Junction City was playing with some intensity, and really did a great job on defense picking up our hits," said Coach Jason Myhre.

Sisters' serving was strong, and the Outlaws gained a lot of points due to solid serve-placement called by Coach Brad Bulloch.

Zanck went a perfect nine-for-nine from the line, with two aces. Spear was 11/13 with four aces, Harrer went 11/12 with three aces, and Hartford was 10/11 from the line with three aces. Brigham also had a good performance at the line, and went 10/11 with one ace. Ashlynn Cantwell rounded out the serving, and went six-for-eight, with one ace.

Brigham led the defense with 21 digs. Cantwell recorded nine digs and Spear added eight. Hartford dished out 24 assists and Harrer tallied 14. Zanck and Harrer combined for 21 kills.

Myhre commented on the match.

"We just didn't seem to be ourselves out there, and played a much slower-tempo game than we are accustomed to," said Myhre. "It's getting toward the end of the season, and teams have seen us play, and so they are starting to put together game plans to compete stronger. This requires us to step up and get back to being innovative to stay ahead of our opponents. A lot of respect goes out to Junction City. They put up a great fight, and had our girls on their heels during a lot of the game."

The Outlaws were to play at home against Cottage Grove on Monday, October 19. Sisters is currently 9-0 in league and 22-1 overall, with their only loss to No. 2-ranked 6A Central Catholic at the Clearwater Classic Tournament.

Sisters added a game to their schedule. They will play at Marist, the No. 1-ranked 5A team in the state, on Tuesday, October 27.

Volleyball squad participates in Clearwater Classic

The Lady Outlaws took on top teams from around the state in the Clearwater Classic held in Bend on Saturday, October 10.

Sisters swept their opponents in pool play. The Outlaws defeated Ridgeview 25-11, 25-15, topped South Salem 25-14, 25-12, and finished with a 25-15, 25-20 win over South Eugene.

The Outlaws played faster and faster during pool play, and were very prepared for their match against Summit at the start of bracket play. Sisters defeated the Storm 25-16, and 25-20.

Libero Jessie Brigham was just "lights-out" digging the ball; she tallied 16 digs in the match. She was all over anything that came her way.

Allie Spear, Ashlynn Cantwell, and Brigham did an incredible job on serve-receive. The trio did not give Summit any easy place to serve the ball. The Storm passed great balls for the Outlaws' setters to do whatever they wanted with them.

Setters Hawley Harrer and Alex Hartford did an outstanding job placing sets and keeping the speed of the game in the Outlaws' favor. Spear and Harrer peppered the ball and brought power to the court. Middles Brooke Knirk and Peytan Zanck ran their hitting assignments perfectly, and froze Summit's blocks. They also hit some strategic places, and forced Summit's middles to resort to tips and hard angles.

Spear recorded 11 kills in the match, tallied 13 digs, and went nine-for-ten from the service line with three aces. Cantwell and Harrer both posted seven digs.

Hartford went 10/12 from the line, dished out 11 assists, and recorded three digs. Brigham was 12/13 from the line with one ace, and led the team with 16 digs.

"Summit is always a tough competitor, and the game could always go either way," said Myhre. "It is becoming a very friendly rivalry and we just happened to get the games swinging our way this year. They are tough, and our players respect their competitiveness."

Sisters advanced and took on No. 2-ranked 6A Central Catholic. The Outlaws fell 26-24, 25-20, in an incredible, high-intensity, well-played match.

The Outlaws were not intimidated by the top-ranked team, and came out strong and took a lead. Sisters hitters pounded the ball, and the squad moved to a tempo that seemed to keep Central Catholic (CC) on their heels. Middle hitters Zanck and Knirk really forced CC hitters to hit line most of the time, and Harrer would cover that lane, which forced a lot of hitting errors for CC.

Sisters' serve-receive did an outstanding job throughout the set. They picked up the serving strength of CC, and kept the team in tempo.

Toward the end of the set, CC proved why they ranked No. 2 in 6A. The Lady Rams adjusted to the Outlaws' speed, started to place some of their tips in tough places, picked up more of the Outlaws' shots and pushed to tie the game. CC forced the Outlaws out of their tempo at the end of the set, and slowed the game down enough to take the win.

The Outlaws and CC fought hard in the second set, but the Rams were able to take the Outlaws out of tempo again, and frustrate their hitting assignments.

"We never really got too far behind the whole set, but by the time we reached our momentum shift it was a little too late and CC took the second set," said Myhre.

"Central Catholic was an amazing team that didn't seem to have any weaknesses in their rotations," said Myhre. "We showed that we are able to compete with the best teams in the state, no matter what level they are at. I've never been prouder of the team, and the way they played their game. It really came down to which team was going to blink and lose tempo. We blinked first, and were just edged out."

Myhre told The Nugget the Outlaws entered the tournament determined to see how they would match up against teams from bigger schools, and they proved they could play right with them.

"This is a special team that just seems to pull out the fight when they need to, and they earned the respect of the CC coaches," added Myhre. "They have nothing to hang their heads about. The success of this weekend first and foremost goes to the girls. They carried the weight, and carried it well."