It was a disappointing end to Sweet Home’s hopes for a chance at the state volleyball tournament when the Huskies lost 3-1 in a very tight match to Cottage Grove at home Thursday, Oct. 17.
Earlier, on Tuesday, Sweet Home beat Junction City 3-1 to entertain hopes of grabbing the third-place berth, but the Lions won 25-19, 25-23, 20-25 and 25-23 to force Sweet Home (4-5) into a must-win over Elmira at home Tuesday, Oct. 22, for any hope of the playoffs. That game, which starts at 6:45 p.m., is also Senior Night.
“The girls played really hard,” Coach Alicia Meier said. “They are a really good catch-up team. When they’re down by five we can catch up. But when they get in the lead, something happens. They get a couple of bad calls and they lose it. They have to push to the end.”
Amanda Hubbard, McKenzie Cochran and Emily Marchbanks played particularly well, she said.
Cochran had 22 digs in the back row, while Hubbard finished with six kills, six digs and two aces.
At Junction City, the Huskies won 25-22, 18-25, 27-25 and 25-19.
“It was a good victory at Junction City,” Meier said. “We are kind of evenly matched this year. They had the same kind of problems that our team had, so it was good for our girls to win that match.”