Volleyball places fourth at state

The Lady Outlaws pulled it together after a tough first-round loss against Philomath, and won their next two matches for a fourth-place finish in state playoffs. The state tournament was held on Friday and Saturday, November 8-9 in Forest Grove. Valley Catholic took first place honors, Sweet Home was runner-up and Philomath took third.

Sisters faced Philomath in their first match of the tourney on Friday morning. The Lady Outlaws had defeated Philomath in five sets in the last round of league play, so the Warriors came ready to battle. The Outlaws went down 0-5 in the first set and never recovered. The Warriors passed well, blocked well, and were aggressive at the net. All the sets were back-and-forth, but Sisters was never able to put together any rallies and push ahead. The Outlaws fell 20-25, 23-25, 25-22 and 22-25.

Greta Davis led the Outlaws with 23 kills and four blocks, followed by Sophie Silva who put down 15 kills. Natalie Sitz and Sam Silva recorded five kills, and Addy Myhre added four.

The loss sent the Lady Outlaws into the consolation bracket where they won both their matches.

Sisters faced Hidden Valley and came out on top in five-sets with scores of 20-25, 25-14, 25-17, 23-25 and 15-9.

The Outlaws just couldn’t put it all together at the start of the match and lost the first set by five. In the second set, Davis had to leave the court due to an ankle injury, and Bailey Knirk stepped up to play middle. Bailey had a quick overpass put-back and a crucial block. Maddie Pollard went in to serve for Knirk and served up an ace on her first attempt.

Sisters got easy victories in the second and third set, but then lost by two in the fourth to push the match to a fifth set. In the fifth, the Outlaws found themselves down by five before the tides turned. Addy Myhre headed to the service line and served the next four points before the Mustangs got the side-out and brought Sisters to within one at 8-9. The Outlaws got the side-out and the score was deadlocked. Sam Silva went back to serve and served the final six points. At game point, Sitz hit the ball down the line with no defender in sight to finish the match.

Sophie Silva had 11 kills and five blocks, and Davis, who was able to return and play, put down 10 kills and four blocks. Sam Silva tallied eight kills and had two blocks, and Addy Myhre added seven kills.

In Sisters’ final match of the tournament they faced Banks, and the teams battled for the fourth-place spot.

The Lady Outlaws came out strong with big attacks, but after their tough five-set match against Hidden Valley, they found it hard to get into an offensive rhythm. While the first set was close, it wasn’t enough to get the win, and the Outlaws fell 20-25.

Sisters regrouped in the second set and jumped to a quick 7-1 lead, never looked back, and crushed Banks 25-13. In the third set, Banks edged the Outlaws and won by three, but Sisters came back with another big win with a score of 25-13 in the fourth set, and again the match went to a fifth set.

In the final set, the Outlaws dominated from start to finish. Once again, Addy Myhre stepped up big from the service line and served five straight to give Sisters the win.

On the second day of the tourney, Coach Rory Rush said, “I am so proud of the girls for being able to re-focus and rally themselves for today’s games. Yesterday was a tough loss for us. We have worked incredibly hard this year, and while this weekend we had some uncharacteristic mistakes, we never gave up and battled for every win. This weekend was a total team win, with everyone stepping up at different times in each match. It was great to end the season on a win!”