Sweet Home’s volleyball team swings into its final week of the league season this week after defeating Cascade 25-10, 25-17, 25-11 on Senior Night in front of fans decked out for a Pink Out against breast cancer.
The Huskies, ranked No. 2 in the state with a 10-0 league record, 17-1 overall, handled Cascade, which has some significant size, relatively easily.
What was up next for Sweet Home as The New Era went to press was No. 4 Sisters (10-1, 22-2) on the road Monday night, as The New Era goes to press, and then a trip to Newport on Oct. 23 to finish off Oregon West play.
The Sisters match will be a good tune-up for the state playoffs, in which Sweet Home is aiming to maintain its ranking.
The Outlaws, a perennial top team in the state, are projected to be a top four along with Sweet Home and Valley Catholic, the only team to beat the Huskies this year.
Hutchins said it’s “difficult” having that kind of competition in the league, but “it’s obviously good for us. We need to play them. That’s the kind of team we’re going to see at state.”
Sweet Home has matured in volleyball in recent years. The Huskies’ JV team was undefeated this season and the JV2 team has lost one match going into Monday’s games.
“I feel that, obviously, we’re a very strong program. It’s good to play a challenging team. We want to win against Sisters to keep our ranking.”
In addition to beating the Outlaws, she said Sweet Home needs to stay healthy and work on “mental preparedness.”
“I think they’re excited,” Hutchins said. “These girls have played a lot of volleyball in their lives. They’ve put a lot of time in. They are playing good competition. They are at a different level than they have been in the past.”