Just over halfway through the league season, Sweet Home’s volleyball team is 3-3 after a win over La Pine that followed a loss at Elmira last week.
Elmira 3, Sweet Home 0
The Huskies got progressively closer to the hosts as the match went on, 25-15, 25-19 and 25-23, but couldn’t get it together soon enough.
“We used to start off strong and end bad, and now we start off bad and end strong, Coach Alicia Meier observed.
“We did kind of step up and play a little bit better, but we just couldn’t get into any sort of rhythm. We can definitely play better against them.”
She said her players seemed to lose confidence walking into the gym.
“We have to keep reminding ourselves that we have nothing to lose,” she said. “We can surprise teams when we can play at 100 percent.”
Jordan Miller finished with five kills and Molly Fisher had four to lead the Huskies.
Sweet Home 3, La Pine 1
La Pine “has improved a ton” over last year, Meier said, and the Hawks came to play at Sweet Home, taking the first game 25-15 before the Huskies woke up to take the next three, 25-18, 25-9 and 25-10.
“They came with their game plan and they served tough,” Meier said. “I think that kind of freaked us out. We were losing to La Pine.”
She credited the “really great fans – especially the student section” for helping Sweet Home get back on track.
“They really helped us out a lot with our energy level. By Game Three we were playing a lot better.”
One strategic move that might have helped, she said, was moving sophomores Josie Knight and Madisen Barringer into the middle so Miller could play on the outside.
Miller finished with a team-high 11 kills, while Emily Marchbanks had 10 digs and Mckenzie Cochtran added nine. Fisher had four kills, five aces and six digs.
The Huskies, who are 4-11 overall, travel to Sisters Tuesday, Oct. 8, then will be at the Seaside Tournament Saturday, where they will see Cottage Grove, Stayton, Tillamook, Madras, Philomath and Estacada.
“We’ve played most of those teams, so we’ll see if we can do better against them,” Meier said.