Ken Roberts
For The New Era
Unable to overcome the powerful attacks of Stayton and Sisters, Sweet Home dropped both of its volleybal matches last week to fall back to 3-3 in conference play.
In a fight for outright control of third place, the Huskies tangled on Tuesday with Cascade, whom they beat earlier in the year. Results were not available at press time. They will finish up the week with a match Thursday at North Marion, which is winless in league play.
Stayton 3, Sweet Home 1
It seemed as if the Huskies were laying the groundwork for a huge upset on their home court on Oct. 10.
In the first game, Sweet Home?s game plan worked to perfection. The Huskies established a great blocking wall that had the normally confident Stayton squad reeling.
Led by Hannah Swanson and Michelle Cliver, the Husky defense was able to dig up and maneuver the ball into the hands of setter Julie Burcham. From there, the Huskies used smart placement and some strong hitting to penetrate through the Eagle blockers. Sweet Home had practiced hard on tipping around and hitting through blocks as well as well as establishing their own block coverage.
?We read what they were going to do,? explained coach Debbie Danielson. ?We were able to put the ball down on them too and they are not used to that.?
An Eagle wide serve gave the Huskies the first game, 25-16.
The whole match ultimately turned on game two. After Sweet Home stumbled at the beginning, the Huskies quickly regained their form and looked like they would handle the Eagles just like game one.
Gagner?s early hitting and serving brought the Huskies back to 8-8. Then with Brocard on the service line, the Huskies returned everything Stayton had to offer until the Eagles misfired, leading to a six point splurge.
But gradually Stayton began to find its game, starting with blocks and ending with kills. Tied at 22, the Eagles? leading hitter, Sam Yutzie gave the Eagles a lead with a kill.
But Cait Thireault came right back with a tip kill into the open center of Stayton?s defense. However, another kill by Yutzie and one more block earned the Eagles a 25-23 victory.
That loss seemed to take the heart out of the Huskies as Stayton went on to win the next two games easily, 25-13 and 25-14. Still, it was a match that surprised and impressed the Eagles? coach.
?The Stayton coach came up after the game and said we were the toughest team he has played in the league,? Danielson said.
Sisters 3, Sweet Home 0
While the Outlaws made enough mistakes to give Sweet Home opportunities to win their Oct. 12 match, Sisters also had a potent front line attack with their setter giving them feed after feed.
The Huskies trailed by a couple of points throughout the first game, only to sneak up on the Outlaws and nearly capitalize on good play at the end. With the score 22-24, Thireault and Brocard each hammered a hit through a block to tie thegame. Thireault?s tip on the next point gave Sweet Home a chance to win on their serve. After a Sisters timeout, the Huskies netted the serve attempt and then made two unforced errors to give the Outlaws the first game, 27-25.
More early Husky miscues put them behind early in game two, a hole from which they could never recover as the Outlaws posted an easier 25-18 win.
?It?s not that we didn?t try,? stated Danielson. ?Our players have huge hearts and they were all doing everything they thought they could do. But sometimes things don?t click.?
Sisters rode a three-point margin most of the game until the end when they allowed the Huskies to get back into the game. With Burcham delivering two tough serves and Sisters obliging with three more errors, the Huskies temporarily took the lead at 21-20.
But with a sideout, the Outlaws put the pressure on and Sweet Home had trouble returning serves and making passes, giving the Outlaws the final game 25-21.
Danielson highlighted the steady play of Cliver as libero and Thireault?s blocking in the Sisters game. But after working so hard on defensing the block, Danielson thought the team may have to return to more work on serving tough and basic defense.
?We weren?t moving to the ball,? said Danielson. ?We were one step behind the ball at all times.?
Danielson said the team has some things to talk about, but they aren?t going to dwell on the losses as much as they will about regaining their enthusiasm.
?We?re not celebrating as much,? noted Danielson. ?I think momentum and how you act on adrenaline out there on the court is huge.?
Capital Conference
Volleyball Standings
(as of Oct. 17)
Wins Losses
Stayton 6 0
Sisters 5 1
Sweet Home 3 3
Cascade 3 3
Molalla 1 5
No.Marion 1 5
Last Week?s Scores
Cascade 3, Molalla(H) 0
Stayton 3, N.Marion(H) 0
Molalla(H) 3 N.Marion 1
Sisters(H) 3, Cascade 2