Outlaws earn top honors at tournament

The Lady Outlaws participated in the South Eugene 11-team Volleyball Tournament on Saturday, September 14. Sisters was the lone 4A team in attendance, along with four 5A teams, and six 6A teams. The Outlaws proved they could play with the much larger schools and defeated 5A North Eugene in the championship game to win it all.

In pool play, Sisters faced 6A Roseburg and 6A McNary. They beat both teams and finished pool play 5-1. This placed them in a four-way tie for first place with Grants Pass, North Eugene, and Silverton, and after calculating points the Outlaws finished fourth in the eight-team Gold Bracket.

Sisters faced Roseburg again in their first match of the afternoon. In the morning the Outlaws struggled to find consistency against the Indians, but came out strong the second time around. They served hard and their fast-paced offense kept Roseburg out of their system. Sisters beat the Indians 2-0.

Sophie Silva led the Outlaws with eight kills, 10 digs, and four aces.

Coach Rory Rush said, “Sophie played smart defense along the net and made the Indians pay for overpasses with calculated put-backs, and had their defense scrambling.”

In their next match against South Medford, the Outlaws’ strong serves and their calculated offense proved to be too much for the Panthers to handle. South Medford would never see a lead in the match and Sisters defeated them 2-0. With the win over the Panthers, the Outlaws advanced to the championship match, where they faced undefeated 5A North

Eugene.

Ellie Rush served strong and the Outlaws took a quick 5-0 lead, which caused the Highlanders to call an early timeout. Sisters never trailed in the first set and easily posted the win. The tide changed and the Outlaws had a rough start in the second set and found themselves trailing 7-1. After a timeout the Outlaws calmed down, refocused, and battled back to tie it up. The score went back and forth until Sam Silva gave Sisters a six-point lead with three service aces, and the team sailed to a championship

victory.