Ken Roberts
For The New Era
Following a loss at Sisters earlier in the week, Sweet Home?s volleyball squad felt the urgency to make a name for themselves when they faced Cascade at home on Thursday.
It is safe to say that Cascade is very aware of who the Huskies are as Sweet Home swept the Cougars in straight games, 25-7, 26-24, 25-22, to even their league record at 1-1.
Like Sisters, Cascade was expected to be one of the roadblocks for the Huskies to finish in the top three in the league. Having lost to Sisters in four games, 25-27, 25-19, 21-25, and21-25, the Huskies needed to prevent digging themselves into a 0-2 hole early in the season.
?Sisters was kind of a wake-up call,? said outside hitter Sara Brocard. ?After the game, we just agreed that we really needed to pull it together.?
Pull it together they did. After a shaky 0-3 start, Husky serving and an intelligent, relentless offensive attack buried Cascade. Breanne Messmer served a string of 10 deep, hard-to-handle serves that mesmerized the Cougars defensively.
The Husky offensive attack also clicked, led by Chelsea Gagner, who had four kills early in the game, and Brocard, who kept finding empty holes to tip into. With Cascade having to resort to returning soft third-ball hits, Michelle Cliver was often on the passing end, guiding it to setter Julie Burcham, who ran the offense superbly.
Gagner also had a run of nine consecutive serves for points. Cascade only served seven times in the entire first game.
?I really get excited before the game,? said Gagner, who also had an outstanding quick start at Sisters. ?Our whole team gets each other ready. When I have a lot of energy, I play better.?
In the second game, Sweet Home slowly pulled out to a 16-11 lead, but Cascade, thanks to some Husky unforced errors, climbed back into the fray to even the score at 20. At that point, Hannah Swanson found a second and third gear. Burcham continually set Swanson, who had three kills and two tips for five of the last six Husky points.
The third game followed a similar pattern to the second as the Huskies? serving and offensive attack pushed them to a 20-14 margin. Sweet Home sputtered enough to let Cascade tie it once again at 22. To end the match, Ashlee Flanagan blocked a bad set for a kill and then Burcham finished with a difficult serve that the Cougars could not return.
?I think we surprised them,? said coach Debbie Danielson. ?They were one of those teams that we had to beat to make sure we are in the top three.?
For the match, the Huskies only had seven missed serves. More importantly, the serves kept the Cougars from getting into their offense, often picking on the outside hitters to prevent them from transitioning into their attack.
?The girls did a good job of hitting their spots,? said Danielson. ?Not only deep, but in the corners, in the seams, and with something on it.?
With Burcham?s confidence growing as the setter, the Huskies were able to run their plays, especially with the accurate passing she received.
?We work on communication between Julie and the hitters, telling each other what play we are going to do,? said Brocard. ?We are always talking and just thinking so much more about the game.?
Danielson has always noticed the difference in their understanding of the game.
Before, they were just watching,? explained Danielson. ?Now they are in it.?
The Huskies also achieved the goal that Danielson set following the Sisters match.
?We didn?t want to play with the idea of just being close,? stated Danielson. ?In our offense, we want to finish strong and put the ball away, not just wait for the other team to make mistakes.?
Sisters 3, Sweet Home 1
The Huskies had just come off a close loss to the Outlaws in tournament action two days earlier. It was no surprise that this match was also close.
The first game went back and forth early, with Gagner?s three kills and three service points keeping Sweet Home in the game. The Huskies gradually built the margin up to five at 16-11, but a good Sisters attack and Husky misfiring at the net allowed Sisters to retake the lead at 23-20. With a couple of good plays by Flanagan, Sweet Home came roaring back to lead at 25-24. Sisters, however, took the last three points on a kill and two missed Sweet Home serve receptions.
With a new Husky lineup, the Huskies began to take over on Sam Pierce?s service rotation. With her deep serving and the Outlaws faltering attack, Sweet Home took a commanding 20-15 lead. Jessalyn Seiber put the final touch on the game with three consecutive kills.
In game three, Sweet Home unraveled early, having trouble with Sisters? serves. They trailed 10-3 until Gagner started to serve. Then Brocard took over. During an eight-point run that temporarily gave them the lead, Brocard had two hits misplayed by the Outlaws and two tips that found empty floor. The two teams played evenly for awhile, but Sweet Home had a stretch where they misplayed a number of balls which cost them the game.
Sweet Home played tentatively early in the deciding fourth game. Sisters pounced on the soft Husky returns to build a slight three point lead. However, with three consecutive kills by Flanagan and a block by Gagner, the Huskies took their first lead at 20-19. But at 21-all, Sweet Home made three errors to lose the match.
Sweet Home continued league play with another home game against North Marion on Tuesday and then completes the week on the road at Molalla on Thursday.
?We have a desire to get better,? said Gagner. ?We need to keep playing good defense. If our kills and hitting keep improving, we?ll end up being one of the best teams in the league.?
Capital Conference Volleyball Standings
(As of press time, noon, Oct. 4)
Wins Losses
Stayton 2 0
Sisters 2 0
Sweet Home 1 1
Cascade 1 1
Molalla 0 2
No.Marion 0 2