Sweet Home won two varsity volleyball matches in the past two weeks, one at a tournament in Seaside over the weekend of Oct. 10 and another in league play at Taft on Oct. 8. The Huskies lost to Philomath on Thursday.
It was close for Sweet Home €“ 25-22, 25-20 and 27-25.
“We were ahead a few times,” Coach Debbie Danielson said. It was a back-and-forth fight at points, but the Huskies, struggling with personnel changes related to team issues that night, were unable to catch the Warriors.
Annie Whitfield led the Husky attack at the net with nine kills, and she served 8-9 with an ace. Hillary McCartin had four kills and four blocks.
Megan Graville received about 80 percent of Philomath’s serves and passed a 2.19 on her serve receive. She served 9-9.
At the Seaside tournament, the Huskies opened against their host, losing 25-22 and 25-15. Continuing in pool play, they lost to LaSalle 25-18 and 25-12. Both teams are ranked.
The Huskies split games with LaGrande, losing 25-22 and winning 25-20 to place third in pool play and move to the consolation bracket where they defeated Tillamook 25-17 and 25-20.
In the second round, the Huskies defeated Corbett 25-21 and then lost 25-14 and 17-15 to be eliminated from the tournament.
“Corbett ended up beating Stayton right before us and lost to Estacada in the finals,” Danielson said. “We played well. It’s probably our best showing in Seaside.
“They fought all the way through. We had some time off, but they came back ready to play. One of the exciting things for us is we stayed in the tournament longer than Stayton and Newport.”
At Taft on Thursday, the Huskies won 25-14, 25-23 and 25-22.
“It was nice to beat them in three,” Danielson said. That was the Huskies’ goal going into the game.
Taft is difficult to play because the Tigers have no down ball or approach, which means that the volleyball is sent over the net from anywhere and can land anywhere, slowing down the game.
The Huskies were missing leading hitter Sam Johnson that night. Emili Riggs led Huskies with nine kills, two blocks and 14 digs. Tana Tyler served 14-14.
On Sept. 6, Central defeated the Huskies 25-22, 25-14 and 25-15 at Central.
“We just didn’t play as well as we should have there,” Danielson said. The Huskies always get intimidated playing at Central.
“They didn’t really beat us as much as we beat ourselves,” Danielson said.
To make playoffs, the Huskies will have to win all of their remaining games, including Newport, which was scheduled on the road for Tuesday; Central at home Thursday; and Taft at home next Tuesday.
The junior varsity one defeated Central Thursday, winning 25-14, losing 25-21 and winning 15-11. The team did not play Taft or Philomath.
The junior varsity two lost to Taft 25-22 and 25-16. The team did not play Central. The team lost 28-26 and 25-18.