Volleyball team is runner-up at state tourney

The Lady Outlaws hit the state tournament Friday and Saturday, November 6-7, with hopes of repeating as state champions. Sisters started strong with wins over Tillamook and Marshfield, but fell hard in three sets to top-ranked Banks in the championship match.

Sisters started the tournament with a win against Tillamook. The Outlaws defeated the Cheesemakers 25-8, 22-25, 25-22, and 25-10.

The Cheesemakers came out ready to play, and after the first set, Sisters let their guard down, and didn't play at their tempo. That let Tillamook back in, and they took that set from the Outlaws. Sisters gained back their momentum toward the end of the third set, and carried it through the fourth set to win the match.

Allie Spear, who had been out with a fractured finger, and Peytan Zanck, who had been out with an ankle sprain, were both back on the court and did a great job for the Outlaws. Allie finished the match with nine digs, four kills, and went 25/28 from the service line. Peytan had six kills and was five-for-eight from the line.

Jessie Brigham showed she is one of the best liberos in the state, and dug every ball that came her way. Jessie finished with 33 digs, and went 13/13 from the line with two aces.

Hawley Harrer played a very consistent match and really took it to the Cheesemakers with her hitting. Hawley recorded 28 kills, dished out 10 assists, and was 13/16 from the line.

Alex Hartford tallied 27 assists, recorded seven digs, and went 16/17 from the line with one ace. Ashlynn Cantwell finished with 10 digs, eight kills, and went a perfect 16/16 from the service line with two aces. Brooke Knirk chipped in for five kills.

The Outlaws advanced to the semi-finals and swept Marshfield in three sets with scores of 25-21, 25-17, and 25-16.

Sisters had control of the tempo of the match from the get-go and maintained control the whole way through.

Coach Jason Myhre said, "Marshfield was a tough team to play, and they have not lost many sets this season. The Outlaws just played great volleyball. Jessie (Brigham) was a digging machine, and everything Marshfield put down, she dug back up."

Harrer led the squad with 15 kills, and Spear followed with 11. Cantwell recorded six kills, and Knirk and Zanck each contributed five.

Hartford tallied 21 assists, and Harrer added 13. Brigham led the squad with 26 digs, Hartford had nine, and Cantwell added four.

Sisters went on to face Banks in a re-match from last year, but this year was a different outcome. The Braves came out ready to play and powered the ball with their hitting game, and controlled the match with their serve-receive. The Braves took down the Outlaws in three tight sets with scores of 26-24, 25-19, and 27-25.

Sisters hung in there and the lead switched several times throughout the sets, but at the very end the Outlaws seemed to be at the back-end of the momentum swing.

The Outlaws committed 28 errors in the match, and despite the errors were able to fight through each set, and make it tough for Banks to finish.

Myhre said, "I was just hoping that we could lessen the errors enough to take some of the sets, but we just couldn't put our game together enough to eliminate the errors and play our level of volleyball. It just didn't seem like we were there as a whole team. We couldn't seem to establish enough synergy as a group to get into a sustaining rhythm. It just happens in sports, and unfortunately for us it happened at the worst time, during a championship game.

"Our hats off to Banks because their defense was just amazing, and when we were able to establish tempo in the game, they would play tough enough defense to gain it back."

Harrer led the team with 17 kills, and also dished out 10 assists, and was a perfect 16/16 from the line with one ace. Spear recorded 11 kills and 11 digs, and Zanck posted eight kills for the Outlaws.

Brigham led the defense with 21 digs, and was also perfect from the line going 13/13 with one ace. Hartford had seven digs, and Cantwell contributed five. Hartford also had 20 assists in the match and went nine-for-ten from the line with one ace.

Myhre told The Nugget that he has never been prouder of his team.

"We have [gone] through a lot this season, and my hope and prayer is that even without a repeat of a state championship that they are at least better for the experience they had," he said. "Second-place in state is a great finish after all, and they earned a ton of respect from teams throughout the state."

Spear and Zanck played their last match of their high school career, and Myhre noted that both have been a major part of the success of Outlaw volleyball, and have impacted him as a coach along the way.

At the close of the tournament, all-tournament team selections were announced and the Outlaws grabbed a few spots. Hawley Harrer and Jessie Brigham were both unanimous first-team all-tournament selections, and Allie Spear was a second-team pick.