Polk County Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • November 1, 2017 15A
PREP VOLLEYBALL
Pirates fall to Joseph in second round of state playoffs
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
JOSEPH — Perrydale’s vol-
leyball team saw its season
come to a close on Saturday.
The Pirates lost to Joseph
25-20, 25-15, 21-25, 25-15 in
the second round of the 1A
state playoffs.
“It was a different atmos-
phere,” coach Denise Dickey
said. “They had a little differ-
ent style of reffing. We got
called on a lot of ball han-
dling errors with anyone
who was taking the first ball
and setting it. That’s some-
thing we weren’t used to see-
ing this side of the state. It
took the first two sets to real-
ly adjust to that. We came
back and won the third set,
but Joseph had too much
momentum.”
The mix of a nine-hour
drive, shorter warmup time
(13 minutes compared to 20)
and increased scrutiny from
the referees put players out
of their comfort zones.
Add in Joseph’s talent, and
the Pirates fell short.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if
(Joseph) was in the finals,”
Dickey said. “They didn’t
have a weak spot on the
court. Usually, a team has a
weak place, or a weak rota-
tion. They were well-round-
ed. I would say they are the
best team we played this
year.”
Perrydale swept Damas-
cus Christian 25-13, 25-17,
25-14 in the first round of
the state playoffs on Oct. 25.
“They came out on fire
and played with a lot of con-
fidence,” Dickey said. “They
probably had one of the best
matches I’ve seen them play
this entire season. It seemed
like the kids couldn’t do any-
thing wrong.”
But playing in the Casco
League title match, the first
round of the state playoffs
and traveling across the
state for a second round
matchup — all in the span of
a week — took its toll, Dick-
ey said.
“I think, going forward,
the girls will be better men-
tally prepared,” Dickey said.
“I think it’s more of the men-
tal game we have to work
on. We can’t underestimate
any team and traveling nine
hours and playing three re-
ally important matches in a
week, I think the girls had a
little fatigue. I think they
were a little worn out before
they even started playing
(against Joseph).”
The Pirates finished the
season with a 23-7 record
overall and 11-1 mark in
league play.
Though Perrydale fell
short of reaching the state
quarterfinals in Redmond,
Dickey said the Pirates
should be proud of their ac-
complishments -- and excit-
ed for the future with nine
players returning.
“I tried to tell the girls we
still had a really great sea-
son,” Dickey said. “I feel bad
for the seniors because they
didn’t quite make it to Red-
mond, but we’re right there.
We are still a young team
and I think the next couple
years are going to be fantas-
tic.”
BRIAN EVANS/for the Itemizer-Observer
Alyssa Lux goes for a kill during the Pirates win over Damascus Christian on Oct. 25.
Dallas: Dragons face Bend on Friday afternoon
Continued from Page 14A
The Dragons roared back,
winning 20 of the final 25
points of the first set.
Dallas also rallied from
deficits late in the second
(23-18) and third (22-17)
sets to complete the sweep.
“It was insane,” senior
Josie Smith said. “I know for
me, moving from being on
junior varsity as a junior to
going to state as a senior is
crazy.”
Tristin Savage had 14 kills,
while Hailey VanWell added
10 kills. Jose Smith had 10
total blocks.
“They don’t want to be
done,” Lavier said. “They
want to keep going. I know a
Volleyball
• Dallas defeated Crater 25-20, 25-17, 21-25, 25-22 in the state
play-in round on Oct. 24.
• Tristin Savage had 11 kills and eight blocks. Maggie Blair
added 12 kills. Emma Classen recorded 31 assists.
• Six Dallas players earned all-league recognition. Tristin Sav-
age (middle blocker) and Emma Classen (setter) received first
team all-Mid-Willamette Conference honors. Hailey VanWell,
Maggie Blair, Mikayli Laizure and Emily May received honorable
mentions.
lot of teams around the
state, they are exhausted.
Our girls aren’t ready for this
run to end.”
Dallas has gone 14-5 over
its last 19 matches.
Lavier hopes a secret
weapon will help push Dal-
las over the top.
—
Friday will mark the Drag-
ons’ first trip to the quarter-
finals since 1990, Lavier
said.
Lavier played a role in
ending Dallas’ season that
year.
“What’s funny is the last
time Dallas played in the
state tournament it was
against my high school
team, Henley,” Lavier said.
“We beat Dallas and ended
up winning the state cham-
pionship.”
From the moment Lavier
started coaching volleyball,
she had a mentor, someone
there to help her out when-
ever she needed it.
“We have our own secret
weapon,” Lavier said.
That weapon is Chuck
Shannon.
Shannon coached for 25
years at Henley. He helped
lead the school to three state
titles (1990, ’91 and 2001),
three second-place finishes
and 20 Skyline Conference
Championships.
“He’s been an integral
part of this program since
I’ve been head coach here,”
Lavier said. “He’s a great re-
source. He talks to the girls.
He shows huge support.
One of the all-time win-
ningest coaches in Oregon
history happens to be my
old coach and mentor.”
Players have taken advan-
tage of having an added re-
source at their disposal,
mostly during the early parts
of the season. The lessons he
shares sticks with them.
“He helps out with our
volleyball camp during the
summer,” Smith said. “I
think what’s cool about
Chuck is he offers a different
perspective. He sees things
about our play that we
might not necessarily have
seen. He helps us in over-
coming adversity.”
Now, Dallas stands three
wins away from an improb-
able state championship.
The road will be tough, but
don’t expect the Dragons to
lay down.
“Call it a Cinderella story,
call it whatever you want,”
Lavier said. “The girls never
gave up. No matter the
score, they never lost sight of
the goal, and now they’re
going to the state tourna-
ment.”
PREP VOLLEYBALL
Panthers lose to top-seeded Summit in first round
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
BEND — Facing the top seed in
the state, Central’s volleyball team
lost to Summit 25-19, 25-16, 25-20
in the first round of the OSAA Class
5A state playoffs on Saturday.
“Summit was a very good team,
very seasoned,” Panthers coach
Claudine Mendazona said. “They
had several contributors on of-
fense. They passed really well and
were able to run their offense for
the majority of the match. They
put us on the defensive a lot.”
Senior Krista Omlid had 11 kills,
11 digs and two
blocks during the
match. Sopho-
more Sydney
Nash recorded 17
assists and eight
digs.
Su m m i t a d -
vanced to the
Omlid
state quarterfi-
nals on Friday against Hood River
Valley.
Central earned a spot in the
state playoffs after defeating
Thurston 23-25, 25-18, 25-17, 10-
25, 15-12 in the play-in round on
Oct. 24.
“The girls just
really stepped up
as a team,” Men-
dazona said.
“They played
well together. … I
was confident
our girls were ca-
pable of winning
Chavez
that match, and
the girls knew they could if they
got things done.”
Omlid had 24 kills and 16 digs.
Annika Riddell recorded six kills
and three blocks; and Nash had 27
assists, 17 digs and four aces.
Elizabeth Chavez (libero) was
named first team
a l l - M i d -
Willamette Con-
f e re n c e. Na s h
(setter), Erin Cole
(defensive spe-
cialist) and Rid-
dell (middle
blocker) received
Riddell
second team all-
conference recognition, and Omlid
(outside hitter) received honorable
mention.
The Panthers finished the sea-
son with an 11-10 record overall
and an 8-6 mark in league play.
Central will see three seniors
graduate from its varsity roster, but
the experienced gained from re-
turning players will be invaluable,
Mendazona said, and could be a
launching point to an even greater
2018 campaign.
“I think they see how important
having that cohesion is,” Menda-
zona said. “Not only being together
as a team, but believing and trusting
in your teammates. You have to have
that when you play a team sport.
These girls have been to the playoffs
last year, and now this season. I
think it’s all about taking those little
steps, progressing forward as they
get older in the program.”
WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP
Wolves defeat Simon Fraser 2-1 on Senior Day
WESTERN OREGON ATHLETICS/for the Itemizer-Observer
Western Oregon recognized seniors Mai Kahuka and Meli Cortez on Saturday.
Itemizer-Observer staff report
MONMOUTH — Western
Oregon University’s women’s
soccer team defeated Simon
Fraser 2-1 on Senior Day on
Saturday.
Senior Meli Cor tez
scored the first goal of the
match in the second half
off an assist from junior
Dacia Alexander. Cortez
also scored in the 62nd
minute. WOU opened the
week with a 1-0 loss to
Seattle Pacific on Thursday.
The Wolves finished the
2017 season with a 3-11-2
record overall and a 2-8-2
mark in Great Northwest
Athletic Conference play,
good for sixth place.
FOOTBALL FALLS TO TAR-
LETON: Western Oregon’s foot-
ball team lost to Tarleton State
28-6 on Saturday.
Tarleton State jumped out to
a 14-0 lead before a 1-yard
touchdown run by junior Caleb
Tingstad brought the Wolves to
within 14-6 in the second quar-
ter. WOU was held without a
score the rest of the way.
Quarterback Nick Duck-
worth finished the game with
235 yards passing. Zack Suarez
recorded six catches for 69
yards and Devin Fortier had 14
rushes for 45 yards.
The Wolves (2-7 overall, 1-5
GNAC) host Azusa Pacific Satur-
day at 1 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL DROPS TWO:
Western Oregon’s volleyball
team lost a pair of conference
matches last week. The Wolves
fell to Western Washington 25-
12, 25-16, 25-15 on Thursday
and Simon Fraser 25-17, 25-19,
25-17 on Saturday.
Alisha Bettinson had 13 kills
against Simon Fraser to lead
the Wolves. Bettinson recorded
a team-high 11 kills against
Western Washington.
WOU played Concordia
Tuesday after press time. West-
ern Oregon (6-15 overall, 2-12
GNAC) plays at Montana State,
Billings Thursday at 6 p.m.
AZORR NAMED TO PRE-
SEASON ALL-GNAC TEAM:
Western Oregon women’s bas-
ketball senior Sydney Azorr
was named to the GNAC Pre-
season All-GNAC team. Azorr
averaged 10.0 points and 4.3
rebounds per game during the
2016-17 season. The Wolves
finished 8-19 overall and 4-16
GNAC.
The Wolves played Lewis &
Clark in an exhibition game on
Sunday.
CROSS-COUNTRY TO HOST
RACE SATURDAY: Western
Oregon will host the NCAA Di-
vision II West Region cross-
country championship Satur-
day at Ash Creek Preserve.
Races begin at 10 a.m.
Fo r m o re i n fo r m a t i o n :
www.wouwolves.com.
Blue Dolphins host Halloween Invitational
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — The Blue Dol-
phins Swim Team hosted the
Halloween Invitational on
Oct. 21 in the club’s first
sanctioned meet in at least
15 years.
The Blue Dolphins com-
peted against teams from
Tillamook, Stayton, Albany
and Lincoln City.
The Blue Dolphins won
the meet with a score of 802.
Lincoln City was second
with 729.
Lonny Stork set two team
records in the 11-12-year-
old age category in the 50-
yard backstroke (32.47 sec-
onds) and 200 individual
medley (2:37.76).
Sydney Alamein set a pro-
gram record in the 100 but-
terfly (11-12) with a time of
1:11.20.
Full results are available
online at www.polkio.com.
The Blue Dolphins Swim
Team is a nonprofit compet-
itive swim team that prac-
tices at Dallas Aquatic Cen-
ter. The squad is open to
swimmers ages 18 and
younger.
A free, two week trial peri-
od is open to any swimmer
interested in joining the
group.
For more information
about the Blue Dolphins:
w w w. b l u e d o l p h i n -
swimteam.org.