Sweet Home’s volleyball team stayed unbeaten in league play last week, though the Huskies did lose some tournament matches that didn’t count as much.
They demolished Stayton at home in three games 25-10, 25-13, 25-17 before heading out on the road to face Sisters, the state defending champion, on Thursday, Sept. 20.
The Huskies won 25-19, 14-25, 26-24, 22-25, 15-13.
“Sisters was an amazing win for our program and for these girls,” said Coach Mary Hutchins. “Obviously, it came down to the wire and was an extremely hard-fought match. We actually did not have our best serve receive game but we had a lot of desire to win and fight in us. In the third set we were down 15-23 and fought back for a win of 26-24 in that set.
“We dropped the fourth set but came right back and won 15-13 in the fifth. It was a very emotional win to get and honestly, playing away at their gym, a great testament of the competitive nature of these girls.”
On Saturday, Sept. 22, Sweet Home was back in the Outlaws’ gym for the 20-team Sisters Tournament, which featured some of this year’s top 4A programs in the state.
The Huskies lost in “tough” pool play to North Bend, La Grande and Hidden Valley, Hutchins said.
“We were in a much tougher pool and we worked hard and tried some new lineups and were able to persevere.”
Sweet Home ended up in a four-way tie for first seeding in the gold bracket after pool play and eventually found itself playing Marist.
“We had a bit of a slow start after the excitement of the morning and then were able to get going and took care of business,” Hutchins said of their 25-16, 25-11 win.
That put the Huskies up against Sisters for the third time this season and “honestly, the fire was not there,” she said. “I’m not sure if it was the back-to-back long trips, coupled with the long day of tourney play, but we couldn’t seal the deal against them.” The Outlaws won 25-20, 25-18.
“We lacked our normal spark and enthusiasm and on this day, on this court, we got outplayed. It was a good example for the girls and we talked as a team about how to change that and what we need to do when presented with that situation again. We talked a lot about mental toughness and what it takes to consistently play at such a high level.
“The other coaches are taking notice of this team and realizing they could be a contender and this tournament was great for us to see what else is out there in 4A and give us some idea on things we need to improve on to compete at the higher level.”
The Huskies (5-0, 10-2) face Newport (1-4, 4-8) on the road Tuesday evening to end the first half of league play, then host Woodburn, which is a young team and has yet to win a match, at home on Thursday, Sept. 27.