Ken Roberts
Of The New Era
With the opportunity to make the state playoffs at hand, Sweet Home came up just short as they lost to Cascade in 3-1 in the league playoff game for third place last Thursday.
In the last game against Cascade, Sweet Home played defensively throughout the game, something coach Debbie Danielson was hoping to change.
?We wanted to make sure we were on the offense a little more and hitting the ball to make them have to work for it,? explained Danielson. ?We did that for a while. Then they got that one hitter up there that was just nailing the ball.?
The first game was a heartbreaker. After faulty Husky serving gave Cascade an early 7-3 lead, Sweet Home found a rhythm and began to take control. Sara Brocard served well and Cait Thireault helped with a couple of key plays at the net, allowing the Huskies to go on a nine-point run.
Sweet Home maintained its six point edge up to 18-12 but then began to misfire, and the Cougars crawled slowly back into contention. Still leading 23-21, it appeared the Huskies would hold on. However, Cascade took the final four points with a kill, a block and two Husky hitting errors to squeeze out the first game, 25-23.
?We were definitely all into the game, but we just couldn?t pull ourselves out of that one,? said Cait Thireault. ?If we would have won that game, we would have had the advantage and probably would be going to state.?
The loss forced the Huskies into a must-win situation. The teams matched up evenly on the early points of the second game before the Husky defense helped shift momentum back their way. The Husky perimeter defense, led by a back row of Michelle Cliver, Hannah Swanson, and Chelsea Gagner serve received so well that Cascade went side out on their serve eight consecutive times, despite never missing a serve.
Once again on Brocard?s serving, the Huskies stretched out the lead to six late in the game, capitalizing on Cascade errors, which evened the match after the 25-19 victory.
In game three, Cascade used its height to reestablish control of the match.
In a game that featured many long rallies, the Cougars, who had changed their emphasis on a middle attack to an outside attack, seemed to take the wind out of the Huskies with their ability to make the important kill or block.
A tightly contested game at 13-13 soon turned lopsided as Cascade finished strong to take a 25-16 victory.
In the final game, Cascade controlled the net play early on to establish a six-point lead at 16-10. The Huskies put together one last push. With Brocard serving tough, Sweet Home took back three of the points. Then, after Michelle Cliver made an incredible third-ball save near the back wall, the Huskies recaptured the serve and Cascade tossed away two points on errors, leaving the Cougars with a slim 19-18 lead.
Following a time out, Sweet Home served wide and then had trouble with its offensive attack. A final kill gave Cascade the decisive 25-19 win.
?I?m disappointed at not going further,? stated Cliver, who led the Huskies with her serve receiving and passing. ?But I have no regrets. I thought we played well; the better team just won.?
Danielson, though disappointed that her team didn?t make it to the state playoffs, still was pleased with the Huskies? performance.
?I was impressed with the way they played all season long,? Danielson said ?They fought hard and most of them went along with the team concept.That is something you have to continue to build.?
Six of the Huskies graduate off a team that finished 5-5 and in fourth place in the conference, and six return.
?We have a lot of people leaving that will leave holes,? stated Danielson. ?but the juniors that are back are very strong juniors.?