Lady Outlaws clinch state playoff berth

Sisters earned a state playoff berth with a 25-29, 25-20, 25-14 win over Creswell on Saturday, October 26. The Outlaws finished league play tied with Creswell, and had to play against them to see who would advance to play No. 1-ranked Pleasant Hill (PH). With the win over the Bulldogs, the Outlaws secured a state playoff berth. The match against PH would decide who would be the No. 1 and No. 2 seed.

In the first set against the Bulldogs, the game went back and forth and at 9-9 had been knotted up six times. With the score once again tied, this time at 15-15, the Outlaws were able to slowly inch away. They held the lead from that point on, and won the set 25-19.

In the second set, Ali Gibney had a nice service run that took the Outlaws to a 9-3 lead. Once again they held onto the lead to post the 25-20 win. The set included several good rallies, and setter Holly Davis had some nice saves that kept the ball alive.

Sisters went up 10-5 in the third set, and then seemed to unravel a bit, and committed a few unforced errors which allowed the Bulldogs to come back and tie it up 10-10. Sisters regrouped, got the lead, and won 25-14.

Coach Josh Kreunen said, “Holly (Davis) did a fantastic job finding the best matchups and running the offense.”

Davis finished the match with a season-high assist/set average and overall with 44 assists. Kathryn Scholl posted a season-high 20 kills, which included a stretch of five consecutive kills in the first set. Scholl also had three blocks in the match. Haven Heuberger tallied 14 kills, and twice went on a three-kill streak in sets two and three. Audrey Sybesma had seven kills and three blocks in the match.

“Behind accurate serving, we played great defense too,” stated Kreunen.

Jordyn Monaghan had some timely digs for the Outlaws and led the team with 10 total. Alli Fogarty and Scholl had nine digs each. Gibney led the squad with four service aces, and as a middle blocker who is only in the back row for half a rotation, finished with five digs.

Kreunen said, “This was the most complete match the team has played all season. They played aggressively and in control.”

Immediately following the match with Creswell, the Outlaws faced undefeated PH. This match was the complete opposite of the match against the Bulldogs, and the Outlaws fell in three straight sets, 12-15, 16-25, and 18-25.

The Billies dominated play in every aspect of the game with powerful kills, well-placed serves, big blocks at the net, and incredible digs. On the flip side, the Outlaws struggled in serve receive, and because of that struggled offensively. On defense, they had trouble against the Billies top hitters.

Pleasant Hill will enter the state playoffs as the No. 1 seed and the Outlaws as the No. 2 seed. The Outlaws will take on Horizon Christian in Tualatin on Wednesday, October 30, in round one of the state playoffs. Time is yet to be determined.