Ken Roberts
For The New Era
Sweet Home opened its Val-Co conference season with losses to the top two teams in the league, Newport and Central.
Against Newport, the Huskies struggled to match the frontline strength of the Cubs in the first two games, falling 13-25 and 16-25. In the third game, after it seemed Sweet Home was headed down the same road trailing 13-17, Annie Whitfield started a five-point service run. During that time, Emili Riggs delivered three kills and Sam Johnson and Whitfield played stellar defense.
As the two teams kept pace to 22, the Huskies closed out the match with solid deep serves by Bayli Riggs. Johnson had a kill and Newport knocked two into the net, including the final point to end the contest, 25-22.
In the final game, the Huskies led 18-16, but a net serve and then six mishit serve receives allowed the Cubs a nine-point run to end the match 25-18.
Top-rated Central lived up to its reputation by handling Sweet Home in straight games, 13-25, 25-21, 25-23. In the second game, Central had inserted their second unit, but they came back with their starting six in the final game. The Huskies responded well defensively, digging up ball after ball from the powerful Panthers. With the score tied at 23, the head referee overturned a line call which gave Central the go ahead point and the Panthers closed it out. The Huskies were led by Paige Niemi in serving and on defense while Alisha Huschka had her second consecutive game of perfect serving.
“We played scrappy,” said head coach Debbie Danielson. “We could have been more offensive-minded. We have to be stronger up front to win these kinds of games.”
The Huskies now find themselves in a situation where they must win five of their remaining six games to have a chance to finish in second place, starting this week with Philomath and Taft, two very beatable teams. However, Philomath, a young team, has improved.
“They are tougher than they were in the jamboree,” said Danielson. “If we want to have a chance at all, we have to beat them.”
In Saturday’s tournament at Philomath, Sweet Home fell early to Junction City, two games to one in pool play, 17-25, 23-25, and 25-14. Against Toledo, the Huskies played the number-one team in the pool very tough but had difficulty closing out the Boomers, losing in straight games 22-25, 21-25, and 24-26.
Niemi, the leading hitter for the tourney, started the Huskies off quickly with four kills.
Toledo, however, steadily used its attack to get back in it and ended with two kills, an ace, and a Sweet Home error to take the opening game.
In game two, late Husky errors cost them the game. In the final game, some solid hitting by Niemi, Hillary McCartin, and Devyn Makin plus the tough serving of Huschka staked the Huskies to a 23-17 lead. Unfortunately, seven straight hitting miscues allowed the Boomers to pick up the win.
In the consolation bracket, Sweet Home put themselves in big holes from which they could not recover, losing to La Pine, 25-22, 25-18.