PAGE B20, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 19, 2021
McNary earns 3-0 win in home opener
after Ebbs sealed
the fi rst game
with a touch-
kill that landed
in-between
a
pair of Silverton
players.
“Energy and
momentum are
huge in volley-
ball, so those
runs help our
players get into
a rhythm. It was
a game changer,”
DeMello said.
Both teams
went back and
McNary outside hitter
forth in game
two with neither
squad leading by
more than three
Silverton defense with back-to-back aces.
at any point in the set. With the game
Moments later, a big spike from Eliana
tied at 24, Trinity Kampstra ended a long
Dean gave McNary the 13-10 lead and
rally with a huge stuff at the net, allow-
forced the Foxes to burn a timeout.
ing the Celtics to gain the advantage.
A kill by Ebbs after the timeout helped
Silverton tied it at 25, but after an error
the Celtics continue the rally — McNary
by the Foxes, Ebbs once again ended the
rattled off 10 straight points before
set with a kill to give McNary the 2-0 lead.
Silverton was able to stop the bleeding.
With a two-set advantage, and all the
"Once we get the momentum and
momentum, the Celtics put an exclama-
keep our energy up, we're a good team.
tion point on the match with their per-
That's what gives us the confi dence to go
formance in the third game. With a 16-13
out there and compete," Ebbs said.
lead, McNary scored nine of the next 11
"It just got the whole team excited and
points to win the third and fi nal set by
pumped up," Blagg added
double digits.
Silverton clawed their way back to
“The key is defense and making sure
tie the game at 23, but McNary was able
we know who is covering what space. It's
to regain the momentum to end the set
a cohesive eff ort,” DeMello said.
Once we get the
momentum and keep
our energy up, we're
a good team. That is
what gives us the
confi dence to go out
there and compete.
— TAYL
McNary outside hitter Taylor Ebbs hits the ball past the Silverton block in the Celtics straight-
set victory.
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
After winning a thrilling fi ve-set
match in their fi rst contest, the McNary
volleyball team won in much more con-
vincing fashion in their home opener.
The Celtics were challenged in the
fi rst two games but still came away
with the straight-set victory, defeating
Silverton 25-23, 27-25, 25-15 on Thursday,
March 11.
“We love being back in our home
gym. Our fans are dearly missed. But
the girls are really excited to be back on
this court,” McNary head coach Crystal
DeMello said.
“It's just great to be out here. We were
fortunate enough to get a season so
we are making the best out of what we
got,” McNary outside hitter Taylor Ebbs
added.
After taking a 5-4 lead in the fi rst
set thanks to a kill from Emily Blagg,
Silverton rattled off six straight points
to take a 10-6 advantage. But McNary
rallied back in what turned out to be a
match-changing run later in the set.
Lexi Eldridge found soft spots in the
Although we are currently closed we are still
serving the community. More than a building,
a center without walls.
E
S
STRUGGLES,
Continued from page B1
We are still working hard to bring you programs, activites, and services that you rely on.
VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING • REASSURANCE CALLS • FOOD & CARE BOXES
Stay up to date and connect — www.facebook.com/center50plus
Fit 50+ YouTube
Fitness Class
REGISTER AT
WEBSITE BELOW
ZOOM CHAT
Reconnect with our drop-in groups. Give us your name and
phone number as well as the name of the class you wish
to attend. Email us: Connect50plus@cityofsalem.net
www.cityofsalem.net/center50 | 503-588-6303 | 2615 Portland Road NE
points in isolation suggest the presence
of specifi c challenges with mental health.
They simply capture snapshots in time
that help us identify patterns and trends
in student social-emotional well-being as
we look for more effi cient ways to respond
to emergent student needs, especially
now,” Moore said.
Moore was able to compare the
answers that were received with similar
data that was collected across the country.
One alarming stat the district found was
that 80% of elementary students across
the country experienced more positive
feelings than SKPS students. However,
SKPS elementary students reported
doing better with challenging feelings
than 70% of their peers across the country.
On the contrary, 60% of secondary
students across the country experienced
more positive feelings than SKPS stu-
dents while 50% had similar struggles
with challenging feelings.
Both elementary and secondary stu-
dents said that they were the happiest
about family, friends, video games and
pets — each set of students also reported
that not being able to see family and
friends, distance learning, fears about
COVID-19 and struggles with mental
health have been the hardest issues for
them.
Although there has been a hands-on
eff ort across the district to meet the men-
tal health needs of every student, there
have been many instances where staff
members haven’t been able to get in
touch with kids.
“Our counselors, teachers, support
staff , and administrators have been
relentless in their respectful attempts to
reach out and consistently connect with
students and their families. There are still
a few hundred students with whom we’ve
lost contact despite trying on a daily or
weekly basis — virtually, via phone, and
in-person. This is worrisome,” Moore said.
While Moore believes that having
in-person classes will create a rise in
the overall mental health of students,
he knows that theme won’t rein true for
every kid.
“Overall, I have no doubts that we’ll
see improvement in the mental health of
students as we return to in-person learn-
ing. Kids are much more resilient than we
often give them credit for, but we will need
to be mindful that during the transition
back to in-person learning we are likely to
see a spike in anxiety for some students,
and some signifi cant mental health strug-
gles for around 10-15% of students,” Moore
said. “We are under no illusions that our
transition back to in-person learning will
be easy, but I am confi dent in the will and
skill of thousands of SKPS staff to show
up for students, meet them where they’re
at, and focus fi rst on social-emotional
well-being, while we build our collective
capacity not only to heal through this dif-
fi cult time, but also thrive.”