Outlaws sweep Cottage Grove in league opener

The Lady Outlaws played a solid match in their sweep over the Cottage Grove Lions at home in the Sky-Em League opener on Thursday, September 14. The match concluded with scores of 25-11, 25-14, and 25-15.

It was a tight start for both teams in the first set, and after the first rotation the Outlaws held a slim 10-8 lead. When freshman Sophia Silva stepped up to the service line, Sisters was up by five, 15-10. Sisters went on a six-point scoring run, gained momentum, and forged ahead to get the win. During that run, Hawley Harrer posted three kills and Silva recorded two aces.

In the second set, with the Outlaws down 12-13, Harrer took control serving, and Sisters scored 12 consecutive points to go up 24-12. Harrer had five aces, and Kendra Sitz contributed three kills in the run. During the run, the Lions took two timeouts to try and stop Sisters' momentum, but the Outlaws stayed strong to the end. Erynn Ricker ended the game with a great kill from the middle. Sisters didn't miss a single serve in the set.

Jessie Brigham broke the game open for the Outlaws in the third set, with her seven-point serving run. Freshman Ellie Rush had seven assists in the set, Brigham recorded five digs, and the Outlaws posted the win.

Jessie Brigham said, "Our chemistry is getting stronger as the season progresses and teamwork is continuously building. We felt confident going into our first league game and we feel like we had a strong start. We hope to continue to come together and play as one team throughout the rest of the season."

Harrer led the squad with 13 kills, 12 digs, 10 assists, and six aces. Brigham logged 15 digs, five aces, and a kill. Cantwell contributed 10 kills and six digs, and Sam Silva added five kills and four digs. Sitz tallied four kills, and Ricker finished with three kills and two blocks.

Coach Rory Rush said, "It was a great way for us to start league play. We were able to play in-system better than we did in previous games. We only missed two serves the whole match, which is something we have been focusing on a lot leading up to the match. Our strong play also allowed us to get some younger players some playing time, which will certainly help us down the road."

Two days earlier, the Outlaws wrapped up preseason at home with a four-set win over the Ridgeview Ravens with scores of 25-18, 22-25, 25-12, and 25-19.

The first set was very close until late in the game when Brigham broke the game open. Jessie went on a four-point serving run and brought the Outlaws to a 20-12 advantage, and Sam Silva closed out the set with three kills and two serving aces.

Sisters had trouble in the second set, and quickly found themselves down 11-1. The Outlaws did climb back in to make it a closer match, but couldn't get the win. Ashlynn Cantwell had some key kills during Sisters' run and ended up with five kills for the set. Silva contributed four kills as well.

The Outlaws took an early 5-2 lead in the third frame. Harrer expanded the lead during her first serving rotation, going on a five-point run, including two aces, and brought the score to 11-3. Sisters controlled the attack and the net, and really never allowed the Ravens into the game. Silva brought the set to an end with a game-winning kill.

The first half of the fourth set was tight. Cantwell stepped up to the service line with the Outlaws down by one, 13-14. When Ashlynn was finished, she'd pulled the Outlaws to a 22-14 advantage, and taken the wind out of the Ravens sails. Cantwell had four aces during her serving run.

Cantwell said, "As a senior I wanted to lead my team and fight back as a team. After our losses last week, I didn't want to lose another game. We did the things we'd talked about before practice, which was playing as a team, being very talkative, staying positive, and most of all having fun."

Sisters' players racked up some serious stats in the match. Harrer recorded 18 kills, 10 assists, and was 100 percent from the service line with three aces. Silva tallied nine kills, 16 digs, and was also 100 percent from the line with three aces.

Cantwell finished the night with eight kills, 16 digs, and six aces. Erynn Ricker had four kills and five blocks, and Kendra Sitz had five kills. Brigham led the team with 23 digs, along with two kills and two aces.

The Outlaws tallied 15 serving aces, and committed only eight serving errors.

Sisters was to play at Sutherlin on Tuesday, September 19. They will play at home against the Sweet Home Huskies on Thursday.