Huskies down Cascade; on to state volleyball tourney

The Huskies soundly defeated Cascade Saturday at home 25-14, 25-20 and 25-16 and advanced to the state volleyball quarterfinals scheduled Friday and Saturday at Lane Community College in Eugene.

“We really focused this past week on serve-receive,” said Coach Alicia Meier. “We had been struggling with passing too tight and making it hard to run an offense. This is the best I have seen the team serve receive this season.

“Cascade’s servers could not find a weak passer on our side of the court.”

The Huskies brought a well-rounded offense and exceptional defense, Meier said.

The Huskies easily won the first game, but ran into a little trouble early in the second game.

Cascade built an 11-6 lead, but following a Sweet Home timeout, the Huskies started closing the gap, scoring a quick four points.

Leading 14-12, Cascade served the ball out of bounds, and the Huskies got within one point. Megan Graville scored a kill to tie the game 14-14.

Teetering back and forth, the Huskies took final control of the score, leading 18-17, when Cascade knocked the ball out of bounds. The Huskies gave up only three more points on the game.

The third game looked like the first, with the Huskies building and expanding on a small lead to close out the match.

Graville had 11 kills on the night, with six blocks, nine digs and two aces. Annie Whitfield added 10 kills, three blocks, seven digs and two aces, and Brandi Trewin had eight kills with five blocks.

“I am really proud of the girls and how hard they played tonight,” Meier said.

The Huskies open the state tournament in Eugene against Hidden Valley.

Hidden Valley is 21-4 overall and 10-0 in league play. Sweet Home is 17-5 overall and 7-3 in league play.

The winner of the game will face either La Grande, 15-4, or Sisters, 20-4, both undefeated in league play.

In OSAA 4A rankings, Sweet Home is third, behind Sisters, second, and Crook County. Hidden Valley is ranked sixth, and La Grande is ranked eighth.

The other side of the bracket includes Banks, 21-6 overall and 8-2 in league; Astoria, 21-3 and 9-1; Crook County, 24-3 and 2-0; and Siuslaw, 18-3 and 10-0.

Total
0
Share