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Polk County Sports 10A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • Datexxx PREP VOLLEYBALL Savage towers above competition By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Senior volley- ball player Tristin Savage towers above her team- mates. But she didn’t always have all the pieces necessary to turn into a dominanting presence on the court. “We used to call her baby giraffe,” Dallas coach Shana Lavier said with a smile. “She was all arms and legs and somewhat uncoordi- nated when she was a younger player.” That is no longer the case as Savage has become a player opponents dread dealing with. “Now we call her the Great Wall of T,” Lavier said. — The biggest changes in Savage’s game came after she focused solely on vol- leyball. Before, she was a multi-sport athlete. The senior played on a traveling club team during the offseason, giving her a chance to play against some of the region’s top players on a consistent basis. “It was crazy different,” Savage said. “The speed of the game was so much quicker.” The experience forced Savage to play more aggres- sively. “I think I’m a lot more ex- cited,” she said. “I bring more energy back to the team than I did before, and LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer file Dallas senior Tristin Savage has grown into a dominat- ing presence on the volleyball court. I’m more confident in my- self.” That confidence has shown up in a big way on the court. Each of the last four matches, Lavier said Savage has recorded 15 or more kills and has become a consistent server. “She’s stronger physically and mentally,” Lavier said. “She’s a dominant player. Teams are threatened by her. Not only does she change their offense, it’s a huge momentum swing to have a middle blocker like Tristin.” As the Dragons approach the end of league play, play- ers hope individual success evolves into team-wide suc- cess. The Dragons entered the week 8-9 overall and 4-6 in Mid-Willamette Conference play – tied for sixth. The top six teams in the league ad- vance to the postseason. The league season has been uneven. For every win, including victories over Central and Crescent Valley, there have been missed op- portunities, including a five-set loss to co-league leader Lebanon. “I think mentally we are doing pretty well,” Savage said. “I think we hold each other accountable, but in order to take that next step, we need to do that a little better. We need to push each other to excel. It’s all mental. When we’re focused and mentally together as a team, we win. When we let it slip, we lose.” The key is finding the mental toughness in the midst of a battle, Lavier said. “They become undisci- plined,” Lavier said. “They will sporadically flail an arm out and panic. We are just trying to work on staying composed and taking care of the frantic.” The Dragons play at Cen- tral Wednesday (today) at 6 p.m. Dallas will compete at the Seaside Tournament on Saturday before hosting Woodburn Tuesday at 6 p.m. “We just need to believe in ourselves,” Savage said. “If we think about our fun- damentals, keep each other accountable and have fun doing it, we can beat any- body.” LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer file Cooper Butler has helped lead Perrydale’s football team. Pirates Continued from Page 8A With a cast of largely new players, the season has been uneven. But that hasn’t stopped players from enjoying the ride. “I’m happy because I’m on this team,” Avila said. “The wins and losses don’t matter as much. These are kids I grew up with. Experi- ence-wise, I don’t think any- thing can replace this.” Butler and Avila in partic- ular know that this season is focused on getting younger players ready to break out in the future. That means sacrificing for long-term success that the seniors won’t be around to see, but that’s OK with them. “It’s weird because you go from junior year looking up to the seniors to people looking up to you now,” Avila said. “But we want to leave a mark on the school in a good way.” Perrydale plays at Pilot Rock Thursday at 6 p.m. “As long as we stay fo- cused, we can make these last few games good ones,” Butler said. PREP VOLLEYBALL Pirates win two Itemizer-Observer staff report PERRYDALE — Perrydale’s volleyball team swept Willamette Valley Christian and C.S. Lewis to improve to 8-1 in Casco League play. The Pirates defeated WVC 25-4, 25-18, 25-23 on Thurs- day and beat C.S. Lewis 25-3, 25-8, 25-9 on Monday. Perrydale (20-4 overall, 9-1 Casco League) played C.S. Lewis Tuesday after press time. The Pirates play at Cro s s h i l l C h r i s t i a n o n Thursday and at Country Christian on Tuesday. CENTRAL ROUNDUP Boys soccer remains undefeated Itemizer-Observer staff report INDEPENDENCE — Cen- tral’s boys soccer team re- mained undefeated after beating Silverton 5-0 on Oct. 3, South Albany 2-0 on Thursday and Crescent Val- ley 3-2 on Monday. Brandon Lopez scored three goals against Silverton. Javier Puente, and Evan Hoover also scored. Eduardo Gonzalez and Hoover scored against South Albany. Lopez (two) and Sebast- ian Diaz scored against the Raiders. “Overall, we have been playing as a team and have been playing with our hearts and minds each game,” coach Joe Orozco said. The Panthers (9-0-1 over- all, 3-0 Mid-Willamette Con- ference) host Lebanon Wednesday (today) at 4 p.m. before playing at Dallas Tuesday at 4 p.m. VOLLEYBALL DOWNS LEBANON: Central’s volleyball team went 3-0 in league play, defeating South Albany 25-15, Omlid 25-15, 25-21 on Oct. 3, Crescent Val- ley 25-15, 29-27, 25-19 on Thursday a n d Lebanon 15- 25, 26-24, 16-25, 25-21, 15-12 on Monday. Krista Omlid had 19 kills and 26 digs against the Warriors, who entered the match in a tie for first place in the league standings. Sydney Nash had 34 assists, Annika Riddell recorded eight blocks and Elizabeth Chavez had six aces. The Panthers (9-7 overall, 5-6 MWC) host Dallas Wednesday (today) at 6 p.m. and play at Corvallis Tuesday at 6 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER FALLS: Cen- tral’s girls soccer team dropped a trio of league matches. The Panthers fell to Silverton 7-0 on Oct. 3, South Albany 5-1 on Thursday and Crescent Val- ley 10-0 on Monday. Central (1-7 overall, 0-3 M W C ) p l a y s a t Le b a n o n Wednesday (today) at 4 p.m. before hosting Dallas Tuesday at 6 p.m. FOOTBALL DROPS HOME- COMING GAME: Central’s foot- ball team lost its Homecoming game to Crescent Valley 33-25 on Friday. “You know going into the game it was going to be a big game with a lot of big plays,” coach Shane Hedrick said. “I thought our kids battled very well and had us in a position to possibly win, but came up a lit- tle bit short.” Jesse Cable was Central’s MVP. Peter Mendazona and Isa- iah Abraham were named co- offensive MVPs; Marcos Cedillo was named Defensive MVP and Braden Fuszek was named Spe- cial Teams MVP. The Panthers (3-3 overall, 1-2 MWC) host Lebanon Thursday at 7 p.m. B OYS XC P L AC E S 1 2 t h : Central’s boys cross-country team placed 12th at the Harrier Classic on Saturday. The girls team finished 13th. Junior Jonathon Brown led the boys with a 38th-place fin- ish in 17 minutes, 3.60 seconds. Senior Jaime Cantu finished 59th in 17:34.80.. Senior Bailie Hartford was the girls team’s top finisher, tak- ing 46th in 20:29.00. Diana Nye placed 82nd in 21:52.10. Central will compete at Cres- cent Valley Wednesday (today) at 4 p.m. Don’t Miss News As It Happens! The Itemizer-Observer will now offer its Online Subscription at $20 per year! Subscribers to the Itemizer-Observer newspaper will receive ONLINE ACCESS at no additional cost. To subscribe, please call us at 503-623-2373 Itemizer-Observer 147 SE Court St, Dallas • www.polkio.com
