Sweet Home’s volleyball team notched a league win with a tough victory at home over Junction City Tuesday, Sept. 24, then lost to Cottage Grove on the road, but went down fighting all the way, which they continued into the Santiam Christian Tournament Saturday.
Sweet Home 3, Junction City 2
The Huskies won the first game 25-18, then lost the next two 25-19, 26-24 before getting some momentum in Game 4, 25-11, and putting the Tigers away 15-13.
“It was really nice to see them rally, point for point, and push through,” Coach Alicia Meier said. “They got the wins, which we definitely needed.”
Jordan Miller finished with 15 kills and two aces, while Molly Fisher had seven kills and five aces. Sierra Thayer added six kills.
Cottage Grove 3, Sweet Home 1
At Cottage Grove, the Huskies forced a fourth game with a 25-20 wn in Game Three after losing the first two 25-19 and 25-23, but fell 25-23 in the fourth to lose 3-1.
They were missing Miller, who had to sit out with a shoulder injury, but Madisen Barringer and Josie Knight swung up from the JV to help out.
“That last game could have gone either way,” Meier said. “Maddie Barringer and Josie Knight played the middle and helped us out there.”
Fisher and Thayer led the team with 11 kills each.
“They have really come on for us in the middle of the season,” Meier said.
Santiam Christian
Tournament
With Miller still on the sidelines, the Huskies played three of the top 10 teams 3A in the state in pool play – Santiam Christian, Valley Catholic and Burns, just missing taking a game off the latter, 25-23. They split with No. 25 Blanchet, and scored 15 on Santiam Christian, a team they were only able to score seven points on earlier in the season.
“I thought we played some of our better volleyball, even though we lost,” Meier said. “Everybody stepped up and really played tough.”
Due to “weird” scheduling, the Huskies sat out the last two rounds of pool play and the first bracket of the consolation, so they were out for about three hours, and when they finally met Willamina in the consolation bracket, they were cold, Meier said. Still, they lost the first game 25-22, before falling 25-13 in the second.
“We weren’t in the game at that point,” she said. “All in all, they played tough, at least in the morning pool play.”
This week, Sweet Home faces Elmira Tuesday on the road, then hosts La Pine at home Thursday, Oct. 3.