SIDELINED 2020
All about the Buckaroo lifestyle
5 QUESTIONS
WITH EMMA
HOUSE
Favorite sport to play and
why?
Volleyball, because it’s a
team sport and it’s always
very exciting. The feeling of
accomplishing something
and having fun with some of
my favorite people is such
an uplifting and inspiring
experience for me.
Favorite sport to watch and
why?
I love watching volleyball,
especially men’s college
volleyball. It’s fast-paced and
so fun to see the incredible
skill of the players. I also love
watching college football with
my dad.
Favorite non-sport activity?
I really enjoy playing the
piano, drawing and painting,
and reading. I love to spend
time with my family, and I like
to work out.
Favorite moment in high
school athletics so far?
When our volleyball team beat
Crook County (last season).
Crook County was definitely
one of the better teams we
played, and coming out with
the win wasn’t easy, but in the
end, it was an incredible and
hard-earned victory.
A fun fact about you that
few people know?
From 2009-2012, my family
and I lived in Cairo, Egypt,
during the Egyptian Revolu-
tion.
Emma House is a
leader at Pendleton
on the court and in
the classroom
By BRETT KANE
For the East Oregonian
P
ENDLETON — For Emma
House, athletics are the center-
piece of her high school expe-
rience, which is why the news
of her senior fall season’s post-
ponement was especially hard to
swallow.
“My immediate reaction was
disappointment,” said House, 17,
an outside hitter for the Pendle-
ton volleyball team. “Sports have
been a huge part of my high school
career, and finding out that it was
postponed was discouraging — it
would be my last high school year
participating. Athletics is one of
the aspects of my school career that
makes me work as hard as I can to
be the best student-athlete I can be.”
House is known for her rigor-
ous work ethic and strong will to do
be her best. With her schedule now
clear during the fall season, she’s
determined to spend her time giv-
ing back to her school and commu-
nity, and to not let that time go to
waste.
“While it is a big setback, and
a disheartening one, my priorities
remain to work hard and condition
to be at my best when the season
does roll around,” she said. “And of
course, keeping up with my school-
ing is also one of my main priori-
ties. I have an AP and honors-heavy
schedule this year, and prioritizing
the ‘student’ in ‘student-athlete’ is
one of my main focuses.”
House has spent the better part
of her summer vacation working as
a COVID-19 screener for Dr. Rob-
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Emma House, a Pendleton High School senior, is a two-sport athlete
competing in volleyball and track.
ert Pratt’s dental office, as well as
helping with her grandparents’ fish-
ing lodge in Glacier Bay, Alaska.
But as soon as she returned home
from Alaska, it was straight back to
the weight room.
“I’ve been spending lots of time
with my family, working, condi-
tioning and preparing for sports,”
House said. “I plan to continue
working and hitting the weight
room to stay prepared and in shape
for the spring.”
House will also take part in var-
ious leadership programs offered at
Pendleton High School, including
joining the Link Crew — a program
where upperclassmen help incom-
ing freshmen adjust to life in high
school. Her skills as a leader are
obvious both on and off the court.
“She’s a very determined ath-
lete,” Pendleton head volleyball
coach Amanda Lapp said. “She
takes pride in her work. She won’t
settle for anything less than her
best, and she’s always working to
try to get her teammates to rise to
that level.”
House’s love of volleyball runs
deep within her blood. All of her
sisters, as well as her brother, played
volleyball in high school, and her
dad played recreationally in col-
lege. Her mother was a volleyball
athlete as a high schooler, and ran
track at Brigham Young University
in Provo, Utah. Her mother’s partic-
ipation in both sports, House said,
inspired her to do the same. Once
her senior volleyball season fin-
ishes, she’ll hit the track to compete
in the 100- and 200-meter dashes,
the 4x100 relay, javelin, and triple
jump events for the Buckaroos.
House was crowned district
champion in the javelin event as a
sophomore, and placed eighth at the
following state meet. Last season,
her volleyball team went 10-9 over-
all and 6-4 in Intermountain Con-
ference action, leaving them just
one win short of a state berth.
“I love the excitement and cama-
raderie of volleyball,” House said.
“The court is always full of life and
movement, and I love being a part
of that. A team sport can only be
excelled at when each player is try-
ing their hardest and supports each
other. I love playing while knowing
I have my team behind me to help
me when I’m down.”
The family bond between the
girls on the Buckaroo volleyball
squad is a cornerstone of their team
dynamic. While House knows they
will never lose that chemistry, she
also recognizes the extra effort it
will take from each of them to hit
the court strong come February.
“I’ll miss the time we will have
lost,” she said of her now-postponed
fall season. “As a team, we condi-
tion, prepare, and bond in the time
prior to the season’s start, and not
being able to have that time to better
unify our team is a little challeng-
ing. A good team is more of a fam-
ily, and that’s something our team
has developed into — a Buckaroo
family.”
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