Outlaws post four wins on volleyball court

The Lady Outlaws packed in four matches last week and won three of them in sweeps.

On Monday, March 9, Sisters defeated Mountain View on the road with scores of 25-12, 25-10, and 25-17. Two days later the Outlaws traveled to Crook County and defeated the Cowgirls 25-22, 25-12, 25-22. On Saturday, Sisters played two matches held at Ridgeview High School. They beat Hood River Valley 25-6, 25-8, and 25-13 in the first match of the day and went on to take down Ridgeview in four sets: 23-25, 25-16, 25-23, and 25-20.

In Monday’s match, the Outlaws jumped out to a quick 10-3 advantage. Sophie Silva and Greta Davis contributed tough serves and aggressive play. The second set went back and forth; with Sisters on top 12-9. Anessa Stotts stepped back to the service line and went on a 12-point serving run to give the Outlaws a 23-9 lead. Mountain View scored one more point on an Outlaws hitting error, but then setter Ellie Rush got the kill with a dump to the middle.

Sisters took a 6-1 lead in the third set, but then struggled to pass the ball. Mountain View went on a nine-point run to go up 10-6. Later, with the Outlaws down by one with the score 17-16, Stotts went back to the line once again and did a stellar job, serving eight straight points to give the Outlaws a 24-16 advantage. Each team scored one more point to end the game 25-17.

Davis led the Outlaws with 16 kills, and had three blocks. Sophie Silva did an outstanding job in the middle, with 11 blocks on the night, and 10 kills. Ellie Rush had 31 assists and four aces, and Stott posted 10 digs and seven aces.

Coach Rory Rush said, “We came out … and played our game from start to finish. Everyone played well and it was fun to watch the chemistry on the floor.”

The Outlaws had a stellar match against Crook County on Wednesday.

Davis led the Outlaws with 18 kills, followed by Silva and Natalie Sitz, who each had seven kills in the match.

“Tonight was a great night for us,” said Rush. “We were able to try some different things and continue to play strong. I’m proud of the leadership our veteran players showed tonight and excited to watch the younger players continue to grow in our program.”

Davis was on fire for the Outlaws in their first set against Hood River Valley on Saturday. Greta served 14 straight points, including five aces. She went back to serve with the game at 11-6 and served out to get the win, and the Outlaws never looked back.

Davis finished with 16 kills and six aces. Silva followed with 10 kills, and Sitz added six kills and three aces.

The Outlaws struggled with their passing and had too many unforced errors in their first set against Ridgeview. The Ravens served the ball well and often forced the Outlaws out of their rhythm. Teams battled back and forth and Sisters had a chance to tie the game 24-24, but Ridgeview hit a ball down the sideline with the down official calling it in and the line judge calling it out. It was decided the line judge had a better view so the ball was called in, which took away Sisters’ hopes of tying the game and trying to go for the win.

Rush told The Nugget that the loss spurred the Outlaws to come out on fire in set two. Anessa Stotts served seven straight points in the win.

Both teams played tough in the third set with long rallies and strong play on both offense and defense. Stotts had another great serving game, which frustrated the Ravens, giving Sisters the edge.

Sisters saw some strong net play from freshman middle Gracie Vohs in the final set, with some powerful kills and big blocks. Rush told The Nugget that Vohs added the spark the Outlaws needed to surprise Ridgeview. Gracie had 15 hitting attempts, 11 of them kills, and no hitting errors in the game.

Davis led the Outlaws with 23 kills, Vohs recorded 15, and Silva added nine.

Rush said, “Today was a great day of volleyball for us, and we are improving each week. We played well together and had fun doing so. It was so nice to have fans cheer us on for a great game against Ridgeview.”

Sisters will play at home against Sweet Home Wednesday, March 17, then travel to Woodburn March 18.