By Keeghan Gittins
For The New Era
Sweet Home hit a milestone Tuesday, Sept. 9, in a 3-1 win over Harrisburg at home.
With the victory, the Huskies came into this week 5-1 on the season, already surpassing last year’s 4-15 record.
After dropping the first set 25-18 to the Eagles, Sweet Home responded with three straight wins to secure a statement victory.
“We came out and lost the first set to Harrisburg, but then won the next three,” said head coach Katie Dargis. “Losing that first set definitely lit a fire in the girls. They came out and played at their level.”
Sweet Home rallied in the second set, crushing the Eagles 25-13. The third set was a change of pace with more of a back-and-forth battle.
Tied at 14, Harrisburg pulled ahead 20-16, forcing a timeout by Dargis. From there, the Huskies flipped the momentum.
Kills from Natalie Smith and Keira Johnson, along with unforced errors from the Eagles, brought the game within one. A block from Kaitlyn Kennedy tied it at 22, then a kill from Kennedy gave Sweet Home its first lead at 23-22. Errors from both sides tied the score again at 24. Natalie Smith set up Kennedy once more for a kill, and Amara Gonzales delivered the final point to seal a 26-24 win in the third set.
“The last set was intense – it went all the way to 30 points,” said Dargis. “One of our team goals has been to handle pressure well, and they really showed that on Tuesday night.”
“The number of attacks we sent caused enough chaos that they couldn’t send much back at us,” said Dargis. “Harrisburg was a scrappy team – they got a lot of balls up.”
Kennedy led the Huskies with nine kills, followed closely by Aaliyah Brown with eight and Aubrey Newberry with six. Johnson added five of her own in the win. In total, Sweet Home recorded approximately 160 attacks on the night.
“That’s a lot of swings,” Dargis said. “Smith, our setter, had 12 attacks. That’s a lot for her – it was her most aggressive game so far this season.”
Natalie Smith organized the offense efficiently, ending the game with 15 assists, Trinity Victor not far behind with 14 assists.
“Our setters did a good job spreading the ball around,” Dargis said.
The Huskies missed just eight serves over the four sets,
“Overall on the night, we missed just eight serves across four sets. I’m happy with that,” the coach said. “We’re working on serving more aggressively. With that comes a few more misses, but it’s worth it.”
Natalie Smith led from the service line with five aces, while Johnson followed with four, and Newberry chipped in with three.
Karissa Jewell, Johnson, and Victor were perfect from the line, each serving at 100%.
“Keira Johnson was great at the net. Our bench had her at five blocks,” said Dargis.
Defensively in serve receive, the Huskies were efficient and clean.
Miley Smith and libero Karrisa Jewell were standouts in the back row, she said.
“They had very few errors in serve-receive, and that helped us stay effective.”
The win against Harrisburg pushed the Huskies winning streak to five after winning the Cascade tournament, beating teams like No. 11 Junction city, and No. 14 Tillamook.
These wins have pushed Sweet Home into the fifth spot in OSAA’s 4A ranking, the highest ranking the Lady Huskies have received since the 2021 state championship team, which was ranked No. 7 before the tournament.
In recent years only the 2018 team was ranked higher, starting the season at No. 2.
Sweet Home joins three other Oregon West Conference teams in Division 4’s Top 12 – Cascade at No. 1, No. 8 Philomath and No. 12 Stayton.
“We’ve been working on staying positive and focused under pressure – and playing the game we know how to play. They put pressure on themselves and handled it really well,” Dargis said.
The Huskies will be tested this week with tough road games against No. 7 Estacada Tuesday, Sept. 16, and at Cottage Grove Thursday, Sept. 18.
The Lions look to be Sweet Home’s toughest challenge so far this year, bringing a No. 4 ranking into the match.