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Huskies down Junction City to open state volleyball playoffs

Sweet Home had little trouble getting rolling in the 4A state volleyball playoffs Saturday afternoon, downing 10th-seeded Junction City 25-11, 25-18, 25-21.

“We had five days to prepare and honestly, it was five really strong days to practice,” Coach Mary Hutchins said.

“We also did extra sessions after practice with individual players each day to sharpen up some skills and better prepare for the coming challenges.”

She said they “watched a lot of film” to prepare for the Tigers, whom they had not played in two years.

“We isolated their two big hitters. We studied their defense and looked for holes where we could score. We found some ares we felt we could attack and take advantage of and worked on serving tough and our serve receive,” Hutchins said.

“On Saturday we came out and executed,” she said. “The girls were fired up and ready to play. They followed our game plan and stayed in system throughout all three sets. We had some great serving moments and our defense was moving well. We communicated well with each other.”

The preparation paid off in points, she said, as they were able to score off the weaknesses they’d identified.

“This team is a very fun team to coach,” Hutchins said. “They support each other and cheer for each other in practice and they have very good attitudes.

“Our seniors really have been stepping up in big ways and leading our team on the court. Making the final eight is a huge accomplishment in volleyball.”

She noted that in a normal year the final eight bracket would be held in Forest Grove, but due to COVID the Huskies (12-5) will be playing at second-seeded Cascade (19-4), a 25-10, 25-20, 25-23 winner over No. 15 LaGrande on Saturday.

“We are not expected to win but we are hoping to go there and put on a great showing and hopefully come away with a big upset win,” Hutchins said. “There are four teams from our league in the final eight, which just shows how tough our league consistently is. We are very excited to be one of the final eight teams still standing and so proud of the kids.”

The Huskies’ match with Cascade is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 2.

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