Outlaws volleyball brings out the broom

The Outlaws’ team started off the week on Tuesday with a three-game sweep over the visiting Creswell Bulldogs (No. 10), with scores of 27-25, 25-23, and 25-22. Two days later they defeated the La Pine Hawks in three close sets (25-22, 25-20, 25-20).

Tuesday’s match against Creswell wasn’t easy. In the first set the Outlaws were up 24-21, but due to some errors, they allowed the Bulldogs back in. The set was tied at 24, and again at 25, before Alli Fogarty served up back-to-back aces for the Outlaws’ win.

Sisters quickly went up 12-5 in the second set, but again serve receive errors and dropped balls allowed Creswell to close the gap, tie it at 22 and again at 23. Kathryn Scholl put down the two final kills behind serves from Ali Gibney for the second set win.

In set three, Creswell got out to a 17-12 lead through some tough serves and some Sisters’ errors. The Outlaws battled back and finished the third set by earning, either by aces or kills, 12 of the last 14 points.

Coach Josh Kreunen said, “Audrey (Sybesma), Haven (Heuberger), and Alexis (Gibney) all had big kills in that third and deciding set.”

Scholl finished with 16 kills, and Gibney tallied six kills, seven digs, and three aces. Heuberger and Sybesma added five kills each.

Jordyn Monaghan recorded 10 digs, Fogarty seven, and Emma Long added six. Holly Davis had six aces in the match and 32 assists.

On Thursday, La Pine battled hard and made the Outlaws work for the win.

In the first set, the Outlaws held an 18-11 lead, but the Hawks came back to tie it up 21-21. Sisters then scored four straight points to get the win.

The second set was close the entire first half, with the score tied six times (2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 13). La Pine then committed an error, Sybesma made a kill, and Scholl followed with back-to-back aces to give the Outlaws a 17-13 advantage. Long served three points from the service line late in the set, and Scholl recorded the final kill that sealed the win.

Sisters tied the third match at 1-1 and from there had to fight back into the lead. A kill from Kisten Elbek pulled the Outlaws to within two points at 16-18, and then Paityn Cotner took them to a 19-18 lead from the service line. The Hawks tied it at 19-19, before the Outlaws pulled away for the win. Fogarty served up the last two points with back-to-back aces.

Kreunen said, “We set the tone for the match with solid serve receive and good ball control. All our players saw court time and contributed to the win.”

Scholl finished with nine kills, followed by Gibney and Heuberger, who both recorded six. Cotner had seven digs, and Davis, Long, and Fogarty contributed five. Fogarty also had four aces in the match, and Davis dished out 27 assists.

The Lady Outlaws will play at home against Elmira on Tuesday, October 1, and at home again on Thursday against top-ranked Pleasant Hill.