The Husky volleyball team defeated Stayton in five games Thursday night at home.
The game wasn’t critical to making league playoffs, Coach Heide Nichol said. “It certainly was a mental boost given that we haven’t beaten Stayton for five or six years.”
The game gave the Huskies a 5-5 league record at fourth place in league standings, barely behind Stayton.
“We made a huge comeback at the end,” Coach Nichol said.
The Huskies will face Stayton in league playoffs at 6 p.m. on Thursday night at Stayton. The winner of that game will go to the first round of state playoffs and travel to Douglas High School on Saturday. The winner will go the state tournament.
The Huskies started last week at Molalla on Tuesday.
“That was their real varsity team,” Coach Nichol said. Several players had been ineligible to play and returned late in the season.
“We ended up beating them in four games,” Coach Nichol said. “We looked good against them. We looked like we had a good flow as a team.”
Thursday night, the Huskies hosted Stayton. They won the first game 25-18.
“That set the stage for good things,” Coach Nichol said. The team had big fan support with Homecoming and the Rowdy-40, and that helped.
Stayton won the next two games, 25-18 and 25-13, quieting the gymnasium, then “the girls just stepped up,” Coach Nichol said. “The girls just had a lot of mental toughness.”
The coaching staff identified things the things that were working for the team and things the team could do, then the girls went out and did it, Coach Nichol said. “They have really come along as a team with their confidence. They know that when they go out and play hard and stop overthinking the whole thing, they do well.”
The coaches made their points, Coach Nichol said, but it wasn’t inspirational.
“It was them,” Coach Nichol said. “They pushed really hard from the beginning.”
Stayton has a big block, Coach Nichol said, so the Huskies had to hit a little differently. Nicki Emmert ‘s setting at 117-127 with 29 assists was a big part of breaking through that block.
Husky blocking was great, with 15 as a team, Coach Nichol said. “Our front row blockers really did a great job. In the back row, our defense was outstanding.”
Alisha Basham led digs with 26. Chelsea Gagner had 23; Elissa McCartin, 18; Emmert, 17; and Michelle Cliver, 15.
“They were scrappy,” Coach Nichol said. “Even if things weren’t great, they made something of it.”
On offense, the Huskies had many contributors. Hitting leaders included McCartin with 12; Kari McGuyre, seven; Ashlee Flanagan, seven; and Gagner, five.
Husky serving was aggressive with high percentages, Coach Nichol said. Emmert served 26-28. Cliver served 15-17.
On serve receive, Basham was 35-37; Gagner, 19-20; and Cliver 10-10.
“All that does is allow us to run an offense, an attack off of serve receive,” Coach Nichol said.
After the game, Coach Nichol told the team that the game was what Homecoming was all about, winning a close game.
“It inspires teams to do maybe the very best they’ve ever done,” Coach Nichol said. It was the Huskies best game, but there are “still places we can improve. The great thing about this team is they’re peaking at the very best possible time.”
Coach Nichol is confident the Huskies can do it again Thursday night.
“I know we can,” Coach Nichol said. “It’s all a matter of confidence. We need to take them out of their offense by getting ours going. We can beat them. I have no doubt in my mind.”
Stayton will have improvements Thursday, Coach Nichol said, but “we’ve figured out how to hit them where it hurts.”