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Wednesday, October 24, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Lady Outlaws dethroned as league volleyball champs
By Rongi Yost
Correspondent
The Lady Outlaws have
dominated league play and
have claimed the league title
for the past nine years. This
year the giant fell as league
foe Sweet Home unseated
the Outlaws and claimed the
league title — a feat they
haven’t been able to accom-
plish since 1998.
Sisters lost to the Huskies
earlier in the season and on
Monday, October 22, the
top two teams in the league
matched up for their final
battle of the season. If the
Outlaws could post the
win, both squads would fin-
ish as co-League champs.
Unfortunately, that was not
the case, and after a brutal
five-set match, the Outlaws
fell short with a devastating
23-25, 25-22, 25-22, 23-25,
and 13-15 loss.
In the first set, Sisters
jumped out quick, played
with confidence and took
a seven point lead. The
lead slowly slipped away
behind tough serves from
the Huskies, and the Outlaws
took the loss.
The Outlaws regrouped
and came out strong in the
second and third sets, and
won both sets by a three-
point spread. Sisters went up
2-1 and went into the fourth
set ready to put away the
tough Sweet Home squad.
The Outlaws battled for a
win, and the Huskies played
hard with hopes of forcing
the Outlaws to a fifth set.
Toward the end, Sweet Home
mishandled the ball, and
the Outlaws came to within
one point, 23-24. Kendra
Sitz stepped back to the ser-
vice line with high hopes of
tying up the contest, but the
Huskies got a good pass, set,
and kill to finish the game
and forced a fifth set.
Again, the Outlaws got
an early 4-1 lead, and Sweet
Home immediately called
a time-out. The Huskies
responded and soon the game
was tied 7-7. Sisters commit-
ted some untimely unforced
errors and the Outlaws found
themselves behind 7-11. Sitz
went back to the line and
served the Outlaws back
into the game and tied it up
at 11. The game went back
and forth, point for point,
with both teams giving it
their all and battling for the
win. Sadly for the Outlaws,
the Huskies finished on top
15-13, posted the win, and
claimed the Oregon West
Conference title.
Freshman Greta Davis,
who has been an impact
player for the Outlaws at the
middle position all year long,
said, “We were playing timid,
and weren’t confident like
we usually are. We were very
evenly matched and knew
it would be close, and we
were all disappointed with
the loss. But, we’re looking
ahead, and will focus all our
energy into preparing for the
playoffs. We’re hoping for a
win that will advance us to
the state tournament.”
Coach Rory Rush said,
“Sweet Home has great fans,
and their gym is not only
packed, but loud, and play-
ing there is always difficult.
I am very proud of the way
we played tonight. We came
to compete and did just that.
It was a close match from
start to finish. We had a few
more unforced errors than we
would have liked, but overall
it was a great game. We know
there are a few things we can
work on to clean up our game
and ready us for the next
two weeks as we head into
playoffs.”
The Lady Outlaws were to
play a match at Hood River
on Monday, October 22, in
preparation for the playoffs.
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
Greta Davis and Kendra Sitz block out Sweet Home.
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