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SPORTS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2018 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS Heppner gets road win over Stanfield By ANNIE FOWLER East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton’s Josie Wilson spikes the ball into a block from Hood River’s Katie Kennedy and Haylee Baker (3) in the Bucks’ 3-1 loss to the Eagles on Tuesday in Pendleton. Bucks lose intense match By BRETT KANE East Oregonian Hood River Valley defeated Pendleton at home for the sec- ond time this season on Tuesday night, topping the Bucks in four close sets. Pendleton was the first to get on the scoreboard when outside hitter Elisabeth House opened the game with a kill to put her team ahead and foreshadow the tight match to come. Hood River was quick to return and pull ahead with out- side hitter Katie Kennedy and middle blocker Carli Stroud leading the team, wrapping the first set up 25-21. Kennedy proved to be a powerhouse on the court, fin- ishing the night with 36 kills for the Eagles. Her strong hit- ting gave Hood River the upper hand again in the second set with three consecutive kills for a three-point lead that lasted till the very end. The Eagles claimed the set 25-22. Kennedy then put the Eagles two points ahead in the third set, but things quickly changed for the Bucks after House brought them out of a tie and into the VOLLEYBALL Pendleton’s Kirah McGlothan (5) and Carissa Cooley both dive for the ball in a match on Tuesday against Hood River. lead with a kill. Setter Elli Nirschl rejuvenated her team with enough kills to hand the set to Pendleton at 25-23. “When Katie moved to the back row, we capitalized on it,” said Pendleton coach Amanda Lapp. “We made big plays at the right time.” The revival didn’t last long, however. Kennedy and Stroud’s skills kept the Eagles in a steady lead over Pendleton in the fourth set, which ended at 25-15. “It was a great game,” Lapp said. “We had some big blocks and dug like crazy. We weren’t going to let Hood River leave our court without a fight.” Pendleton (5-9, 4-3) has two more games before play- offs. Lapp says they needed to sweep Hood River in order to have a good shot at making the playoffs. It’s an uphill battle from here for the Bucks, who will play at Ridgeview on Thursday and return home Tuesday to play Crook County. Both teams and Hood River are above Pendle- ton in the standings. Hood River Pendleton 3 1 The OSAA takes the top four teams out of most conferences to compete in the playoffs, but only the top three in the 5A-4 Intermountain Conference due to its smaller size. Nirschl led the Bucks with three aces, six kills, three digs, and 21 assists. Aspen Garton had one ace, seven kills, and four digs, House had nine kills and one dig, and Kirah McGlo- than finished with nine digs. “We fought hard,” Nirschl said. “In practice, we worked to speed up our game to throw them off — last time we played them, we played too slow. We’re not as big as Hood River, but we have more heart. That’s what keeps us in there and helps us compete against these bigger schools.” Heppner closed out its Blue Mountain Conference schedule Tuesday night with a road win over Stanfield. Sydney Wilson had 13 kills, 16 digs and four aces to fuel the Mus- tangs’ 25-13, 25-20, 25-16 victory over the Tigers. “Her drive is one you don’t see in a lot of kids anymore,” Hep- pner coach Mindy Wilson said. “She wants it more than anyone.” Sydney Heppner (15- 11, 8-4 BMC) fin- Wilson ished third in the conference standings and will play Weston-McEwen at noon Satur- day in the district tournament at Stanfield. “It’s nice to play on the floor we will be playing on this weekend,” coach Wilson said. “Get the lay of the area.” The Tigers (13-14, 2-10) closed out their season with the loss. “We have proven we can play at a higher level, we just don’t do it on a consistent basis,” Stanfield coach Blaine Ganvoa said. “We are headed in the right direction. We have moved the program in a pos- itive direction. We are leaving it better than we started at the begin- ning of the season.” Heppner jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first set, getting five points from Jacee Currin and three kills from Wilson. The Mustangs extended their lead to 13-2 as Jenna McCullough served four points and Stanfield committed three unforced errors. The Tigers pulled within 19-9 before the Mustangs reeled off four points for a 23-9 advantage. A kill by Madison Combe finished off the set. “We had some passing break- See HEPPNER/2B VOLLEYBALL Heppner Stanfield 3 0 Curry, Durant lead Warriors in festive opener By JANIE MCCAULEY AP Sports Writer OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry is coming off an injury-plagued season and a summer he thought might be among his best yet. On a festive night of celebration as another championship banner went up, Curry brought his usual flair and daz- zle. Kevin Durant did all of the little things, too. Curry had 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, Durant added 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and the Golden State Warriors opened their quest for a three-peat by holding off the Oklahoma City Thunder 108- 100 on Tuesday night. “I love who we are, game 1 of 82,” Durant said. “Just keep grinding.” Golden State needed a strong fourth quarter after the two-time defending champions received their 2018 rings in a pregame ceremony shortly before tipoff and began the final season at Oracle Arena before a move across San Francisco Bay to new Chase Center . “It’s a great move for the organi- zation. We know that but this place is special, so we want to make sure this is a special season,” coach Steve Kerr said. Klay Thompson shot just 5 of 20 for 14 points, while center Damian Jones scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting for the Warriors in his first career start and 26th game. Kerr knows his players are still get- ting in shape and looked tired, saying: “We didn’t look much like ourselves. It’s not surprising either. We need a couple more weeks.” Paul George scored 27 points for the Thunder, who struggled to find an offensive groove while missing star Russell Westbrook because of knee surgery last month. AP Photo/Ben Margot) Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry speaks during an awards ceremony to recognize the team’s NBA championship prior to their season opener Tuesday. Sports shorts Louisville player charged with threat to girlfriend LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville football player Kemari Averett was charged Tuesday with putting a gun to his girlfriend’s head and threatening to kill her. The tight end was suspended from the team. The 20-year-old sophomore remains in Louisville Metro jail on $10,000 bond after pleading not guilty and faces an Oct. 26 hearing. University police charged him with first-degree wanton endangerment and fourth-degree assault. THIS DATE IN SPORTS Bono resigns as USA Gymnastics president after just 4 days When former California Congresswoman Mary Bono took over as the interim president for USA Gymnastics last week, she pointed to the opportunity to “reconnect” with a sport she loved growing up. The connection lasted all of four days. Bono stepped down on Tuesday, saying she felt her affil- iation with the embattled organization would be a “liabil- ity” after a social media post by Bono criticizing Nike and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick drew widespread scrutiny within the gymnastics community. — Associated Press 1960 — The National League formally awards franchises to the New York Metropolitan Baseball Club Inc. headed by Joan Payson and a Houston, Texas, group headed by Judge Roy Hofheinz, Craig Cullinan and R.E. Smith. 2017 — Boston’s Gordon Hay- ward breaks his left ankle just five minutes into the season, a grisly injury that overshadows Kyrie Irving’s return to Cleveland and the Cavaliers’ 102-99 win over the shocked Celtics. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
