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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2018)
8A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2018 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com SPORTS IN BRIEF Banks, Seaside split games BANKS — The Seaside boys soccer team took another step towards its annual Cowapa League title with a 3-0 win Thurs- day afternoon at Banks. The No. 6-ranked Gulls improved to 4-0 in league play, while the Braves are at the bottom, 0-4 in league, 1-8 overall. Seaside maintains a one-game lead over Valley Catholic. While the Seaside boys were winning on the road, the Banks’ girls soccer team posted a 3-1 win Thursday over Seaside at Broad- way Field. Banks remains one game behind league-leading Valley Catholic, while the Gulls slipped to 0-4 in league play. Seaside takes on Astoria in a Clatsop Clash doubleheader Tues- day at Hal Snow Volunteer Field, with the first game set to begin at 5:30 p.m. Jewell sweeps past Falls City JEWELL — The Jewell vol- leyball team drew a little closer to a top-four finish in league, with a three-game sweep Thursday night over Falls City, 25-10, 25-18, 25-20. The Lady Jays improve to 5-6, fifth place in the Casco League standings, one game behind Wil- lamette Valley Christian. Jewell has bounced back from a three-match losing skid by win- ning two of its last three matches. The Blue Jays play Tuesday at last-place C.S. Lewis. — The Daily Astorian Perfect Rams look to continue early run facing Seahawks By TIM BOOTH Associated Press SEATTLE — The last time the Los Angeles Rams visited Seat- tle, they were announcing them- selves as the new powerhouse in the NFC West by handing the Seahawks a drubbing unlike any they had experienced in Pete Car- roll’s tenure. UP NEXT: SEAHAWKS • Los Angeles Rams (4-0) at Seattle Seahawks (2-2) • Sunday, 1:25 p.m. TV: FOX As much as the Seahawks would like to forget that day last December, a 42-7 loss to a divi- sion rival lingers. Less than a year later, the Rams are more than just the favorites of their division. A quarter through the season, they may be the prohibitive Super Bowl favorites. The Rams (4-0) make their annual trip to Seat- tle on Sunday looking to take control of the division just five weeks into the season. “I think there’s definitely a lot of confidence that comes with playing well and definitely can get some momentum going, but I think we’re just executing,” Rams quarterback Jared Goff said. “We’ve done a pretty good job executing.” And there is little reason not to believe Los Angeles will be leaving town with a three-game lead. The Rams are scoring an absurd amount of points, hav- ing scored at least 33 points in all four games. Jeff Ter Har/For The Daily Astorian Seaside’s Lilli Taylor, left, and Morgan Blodgett challenge an attack by Astoria’s Halle Helmersen. Astoria tops Seaside in Clatsop Smash By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian T ied for third in the Cowapa League standings with 1-3 records is not where the Astoria and Seaside volleyball teams expected to be, heading into the second half of the league season. But that’s where the two rivals found themselves Thursday night at the Brick House, for match No. 5 of the eight-match league schedule. The winner would find itself right back in the race for second place, while the loser would have some catching up to do. Astoria’s Kes Sandstrom hammered out 16 kills, and the Fishermen completed their regular-season sweep over the Gulls with a three-game sweep, 25-19, 25-21, 25-16. Astoria improves to 2-3 in league, while Seaside drops to 1-4. The win comes five days after Seaside defeated Astoria in a best two-of-three match in a tournament at Hood River. While the Gulls had a win Tuesday over Banks (which swept sixth-ranked Tillamook on Thursday), the Fishermen had the day off, giving Astoria an opportunity to regroup. “We had a bye (Tuesday), and that gave us a chance to sort of re-focus and prepare ourselves,” said Astoria coach Jessie Todd. “This can definitely give us some momentum. It was a good way to start the second half of league.” The Fishermen led from start to finish in Game 1, building a 13-5 lead behind some early kills and a block by Kelsey Fausett, a cross-court shot from Taja-Rae Tuimato, and Tuimato’s sets to Halle Helmersen and Kes Sandstrom for kills off the block. Seaside battled back to within 15-13, but Astoria outscored the Gulls 10-6 from there, with Tuimato setting Julia Norris for a kill at game point. The Gulls held their only leads in Game 2, at 6-4, 7-5 and 9-7. Astoria charged back with long serving runs by Helmersen and Norris, who turned a 16-12 lead into a 22-12 advantage, capped by two straight kills from Fausett. “Kelsey is playing very confident and very sure of herself,” Todd said. “She’s play- ing good defense and reading the ball really well.” Fausett finished with 26 digs and six kills. Again, the Gulls rallied in Game 2 and Epic rally sends Warrenton past Willamina The Daily Astorian SCOREBOARD PREP SPORTS SCHEDULE FRIDAY Football — Tillamook at Astoria, 7 p.m.; Molalla at Seaside, 7 p.m.; Neah- Kah-Nie at Knappa, 7 p.m.; Vernonia at Warrenton, 7 p.m.; Jewell at Eddyville, 4:30 p.m.; Ilwaco at Ocosta, 7 p.m.; Neah Bay at Naselle, 6 p.m. SATURDAY Volleyball — Knappa at Columbia Christian, 5 p.m. pulled to within 23-21 after a pair of Astoria attacks sailed over the back line, coupled with an ace by Tori Tomlin and Anna Huddleston’s set to Ellisa Blodgett for a kill. But Astoria called a timeout to regroup, scored the next point and won a long rally at game point for a two-match lead. The third game was never close, as Hailey O’Brien’s long serving run helped the Fisher- men grab a 14-3 lead. The Astoria advantage reached 23-12, after a cross-court kill by Fausett, an off- speed shot by Kajsa Jackson, and Sandstrom’s “thunder kill,” as described by public address announcer Dan Foss. Big saves and digs by both teams led to several long rallies — most of which were won by Astoria. “It’s clear that both teams are conditioned for that, and tonight we pushed each other into some pretty long rallies,” Todd said. “(The rallies) got a little intense, and they’re a little sweeter when you get the point.” Astoria’s Kajsa Jackson had eight kills and three blocks, while O’Brien finished with 26 digs and five ace serves. Julia Norris added 17 assists, Halle Helmersen had 21 digs, and Tui- mato had 14 assists. Bruce Dustin/For The Daily Astorian Warrenton’s Fernanda Alvarez goes up for an attack in the fifth and deciding game. WARRENTON — Looking to score some revenge for a three-game loss at Willamina Sept. 18 — and to jump right back into the league title race — the Warrenton volleyball team rallied from a two-game deficit for a five-set win Thursday night over the Bulldogs. The Warriors’ 13-25, 24-26, 25-21, 25-22, 15-9 victory gives Warren- ton a 4-2 league record, just a half- game behind Willamina’s 4-1 record atop the Coastal Range League stand- ings. Rainier is also 4-1, and the War- riors can jump past the Columbians with a win over Rainier next Tuesday at Warrenton. With their win Thursday night, the Warriors once again made themselves a serious contender for the league title, even after their 1-2 start to the league season. “There were multiple long rallies in every game,” said Warrenton coach Staci Miethe of Thursday’s match. “It truly was one of the most fun matches I have watched and certainly been a part of. The crowd was an amazing source of energy and we fed on that. “They have been showing great support all season, but being home- coming it was even more electric. Everyone had a big part in the win.” The Warriors lost the first game by 12 points, but that would be the best Willamina could do. The Bulldogs pulled out the narrow Game 2 win, before Warrenton rallied to win the next three. “We started slow, which seems to be a bit of a pattern for us,” Miethe said. “We missed at least six serves. After that (second) game we were able to establish some significant leads, with great serving and the best defense of the season.” Additionally, she said, “Fernanda (Alvarez) had an epic game at the net. She dominated. Not only with her heavy hitting, but with smart tip place- ment and chips.” Claire Bussert “was a defensive all-star,” Miethe said. “She has been playing stellar defense, but tonight she stepped it up and everyone else followed.” Alvarez was 13-of-15 serving, 36-for-40 on attacks (97 percent) with 17 kills. She was also 17-for-17 pass- ing with nine digs, three saves and nine blocks, with seven block kills. Bussert was 18-of-21 at the service line, and 23-for-24 on attacks with three kills. She added 10 saves, nine digs and five blocks, with four block kills. Avyree Miethe led the way at the service line, 26-for-27 with six aces. She also had 14 digs, six kills and six saves. Natalie Oseguera added four blocks and four block kills, and Melia Kapua finished with 17 digs and 10 saves.
