JV volleyball perfect on season

The girls JV volleyball squad had a tremendous season, wrapping up league play with a perfect 12-0 record, dropping only one set. In their final tournament against all 5A schools they defeated Bend High, Mountain View, Ridgeview, Crook County, and Redmond, with their only loss a close match against Caldera.

Eight players made up the Lady Outlaws’ roster, including Ally Gibney, Audrey Sybesma, Addie Clayton, Paityn Cotner, Ava Stotts, Emma Long, Haven Heuberger, and Brooke Lindsay, and were coached by Jason Myhre.

Cotner was the Outlaws’ setter and ran the offense.

Myhre said, “Paityn was put into a position this year that was very strategic, and that was to train her up to prepare for the future. She had really good raw talent as a setter and just needed to be on the court more to fine-tune that. She’s prepared to play at a higher level now than had we done it differently.”

Gibney played primarily on the right side.

“She was placed as an opposite because I knew she had the setting skills and I could count on her in case I needed her to set,” said Myhre.

Myhre told The Nugget that Sybesma and Heuberger made up the best hitting duo in the league and probably in Central Oregon at the JV level. He noted that they both put the ball away, were very strong passers, and very strong on defense, which makes up a good outside hitter.

Clayton and Lindsay played in the middle and Myhre noted that they were the two players that showed the biggest improvement over the course of the season. They stepped up to the challenge as middle blockers, a position they’d never played before.

Long and Stotts were the Outlaws’ defensive specialists and consistently supported the team with great passing.

A lot of the team’s wins came because the Lady Outlaws served their opponents off the floor. Any team that could return their serves were met with a very aggressive attack from the hitters.

Myhre stated that the talent on the JV squad would be equivalent to the third- or fourth-place varsity teams in our league.

“They’re sound skill-wise,” said Myhre, “We have great hitters, great passers and great setting. We’re probably the only JV team that was multi-dimensional. Most JV teams have one or two strong players and all of ours could compete.”

Myhre’s original plan was to help Coach Rory Rush with the varsity squad, but when Rush had a hard time finding a JV coach Myhre agreed to step in as long as it didn’t conflict with him watching his daughter (Gracelyn Myhre, who plays on varsity).

“That decision was probably the best decision I’ve made,” said Myhre. “They’re a great group of girls. They’re very coachable and I just had to unleash the talent they had within them, which was fun to watch. These girls fit into the Outlaws’ legacy of winning, and the future is bright for the program.”