FOUR- Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 31, 2022 Mustang volleyball JV/V host Pirates end, the 2A Rankings are By Tylynn Cimmiyotti It was back to the courts this past Thursday for Mustang volleyball. After a seemingly short summer, the Heppner Mus- tangs started their volley- ball season by hosting the Riverside Pirates. JV games began at 5 pm, and varsity played after. This year’s teams are small yet mighty. Only fifteen girls make up the volleyball roster, which could be limiting if even a few girls were to miss a game simultaneously. Of those returning for varsity are #3 Daralynn Teeman, #4 Katie Wilson, #11 Hallee Hisler, #14 Morgan Cutsforth, #20 Ka- tie Spivey, and #33 Hailey Wenberg. New to the team this year are #7 Makiyah Christian (JV/V), #10 Ava Gerry, #16 Keeley Nairns (JV/V), #18 Hailey Cim- miyotti (JV/V), #22 Dusty Robinson (JV/V), and #23 Kadie Hendrichs (JV/V); one of which is new to our school and community. #10 Ava Gerry, a sophomore, is the daughter of Ryan Gerry, Heppner Jr./Sn. High School’s new Principle. Their family re- located to Heppner from John Day when Mr. Gerry accepted this position. Even in the stifling gym, it was nice to be pres- ent to watch the girls return with no masks and high-fiv- ing each other for luck un- der the net after a bit of con- fusion. The judges signaled the courts’ teams to meet at the net, but after two years of COVID “no-contact” orders between opposite groups, it took a slightly comical moment for the girls to realize what the judges were indicating. During the matches on Thursday, Heppner won each set. The Mustangs never fell once to the Pi- rates. JV: 25-16, 25-14. V: 25-8, 25-15, 25-20. JV games finished quickly, only playing a 30-minute match. Coach Barnett has nothing but high hopes for the JV sea- son, “It was a great team win. The girls have been practicing hard the last two weeks, and it showed on the court tonight. We still have a lot to work on, but I am excited to see where the season will take us.” Varsity’s first two sets showed that Heppner would decide who won. Riverside’s team played hard, never giving up or slowing their pace, but many of the Pirates’ ac- crued points were Mustang errors alone. At the start of the third set of the varsity match, Heppner fell be- hind rather quickly, and Heppner (7), Enterprise (9), and Grant Union (16). The 1A Rankings are Crane (1), Joseph (8), Prairie City (13), and Adrian (30). All Day Stats: Dara Teeman; Digs:41, Assists:45. Katie Wilson; Digs:27, Kills:7, Assists:6, Aces:6. Hallee Hisler; Kills:33, Blocks:3. Av a G e r r y ; D i g s : 1 0 , Kills:15, Aces:5. Morgan Cutsforth; Digs:10. Kills:11, Aces:6. Katie Spivey; Digs:20, Kills:7, Aces:6, Assists:6. Hailey Wenberg; Digs:56, Aces:6. Upcoming games: Good News Only Hallee Hisler tips the ball over the net in the Mus- tangs game vs. Riverside on Thursday, while Mor- soon there was a growing gap in the score. It looked like Riverside would leave Heppner behind and take the win. The lack of points forced the Mustangs to work hard to turn it around and bring the game back in their favor, winning 25-20. The Mustangs scored first during the last set, but the Pirates quickly matched that point in the next volley. Riverside kept up the pace, continuing to add to their score, leaving Heppner behind. With the score at 7-3, Riverside, the Mus- tangs scored only one point more before losing the ball to the pirates after one of the longest volleys of the set. The next play brought the score to 16-9, Riverside, when #11, Hallee Hisler, tipped the ball over the net, getting the ball back and helping Heppner receive the point. At 16-10, River- side, Heppner’s #3, Dara Teeman, served for 6 points in a row, bringing Heppner up to tie with Riverside. Now, at 16-16, Mustangs spiked the ball out the back, losing the play to the Pi- rates, 17-16. The play continued to move back and forth be- tween the two teams. The longest Riverside kept the ball during this time was for three consecutive points. Heppner got the ball back at 20-19; this is when #20, Katie Spivey, served another six times in a row for the Mustangs, which helped bring the score up, and sealed the W when the Pirates tipped the ball out of bounds during the final play. Riverside’s coach attempted to break up both of Heppner’s serving streaks with time-outs, but luckily the Mustangs’ serv- ers did not waver either time. Those 12 solid points gave the Mustangs the late foundation they needed to win the set. Coach Wilson was excited and relieved to see the team make a comeback. “This was a great game to see what we needed to work on as a team and individu- als. We started strong but then had to battle in the final set. It was good to see both sides of the game, showing us what it would take to come from behind. I’m very pleased about where we are this early in the season, and I am excited to build upon that.” JV Final Scores: 25-16, 25- 14, Heppner Varsity Final Scores: 25-8, 25-15, 25-20, Heppner Digs: Hailey Wenberg-8, Morgan Cutsforth-6. Kills: Hallee Hisler-5, Ava Gerry-4. Assists: Dara Teeman-12. Aces: Dara Teeman-4, Hai- ley Wenberg-3, Katie Wil- son-3. Grant Union season opener tournament By Tylynn Cimmiyotti The Mustangs’ var- sity volleyball team trav- eled on Saturday to John Day to compete in the 2022 Grant Union Season Open- er Tournament. Several teams from 1A and 2A levels met to compete. The teams present were: Heppner, Grant Union, Prairie City, Enterprise, Crane, Adrian, and Joseph. The Mustangs placed 3rd/4th in the tour- nament since there was no consolation game to deter- mine final placement. V Final Scores: During pool play: vs. Jo- seph: 25-16, 25-20, and vs. Adrian: 25-18, 15-25. During bracket play: vs. Enterprise: 25-22, 25-14; vs. Joseph: 18-25, 25-23, 15-11. What Coach Wil- son has to say about their Saturday tournament is, “It was a good day; we played well. The team won to- gether and lost together but learned a lot about what it is going to take to be success- ful. We have work to do, and the team is improving daily.” After this week- By Doris Brosnan School days are back?! Seems impossible. And as the school year begins, hats off to ICABO and Ione Booster Club for their determination to see that all Ione students have supplies needed for suc- cess. They have provided those supplies at no cost to the families. And the Bank of Eastern Oregon continues its collection of school-supplies donations, so there is still some time for contributions that will be useful to our school stu- dentsd. Volleyball and football teams also appreciate our support, so check those schedules. Volleyball is already in full swing, and first football games for the Mustangs and the “Birds” are this week. Yes, for anyone not al- ready aware, the Ione and Arlington high schools agreed last year to combine sports teams in order to remain competitive. This called for a new moniker, of course. Thus, the “Car- dinals” and the “Honkers” became the “Birds.” A new face in the Ione Schools’ fifth-grade classroom is a face famil- iar to many. Cara Osmin has signed on as the fifth- grade teacher, returning to full-time work after a few years of substitute teach- ing in the Morrow County schools. Welcome back, Cara. At the Bank of East- ern Oregon branches are the new “Morrow County Chronicles”. The 2022 is- sue is priced at $7. Some familiar names in this year’s publication: Tatone, Cecil Post Office, Easley, Heppner rodeo, Red Leon- ard, Rawlins, Lexington Jackrabbits, Green Feed, Tolar. The “Chronicles” will also be available at Murray’s and at the muse- um. JoyceKay Hollomon beams with pride and a touch of awe when she re- calls the triple successes she witnessed for mem- bers of her family at the fair and rodeo this year. Tenely Rosenbaum, (Joy- ceKay’s granddaughter) 12-year-old daughter of Jeremy and Madison, rep- resented the family’s third generation to participate in the fair. She earned grand champion for conforma- tion with one of her lambs, while with her other lamb, she earned reserve cham- pion for showmanship and reserve champion for conformation. And then at the Sunday rodeo, Wacy Coil, son of Jay and Dar- cy (JoyceKay’s daughter), won the buckle for his suc- cess as a mugger for Willy Gentry, a challenge differ- ent from his past hide-race endeavors. And to top off JoyceKay’s surprises, her son-in-law, Ken Bailey, entered the calf-roping competition for the first time and took home the saddle. One might think that a golf team on which three of the six members are two priests and one bishop – Fathers Thankachan and Kumar and Bishop Cary - could have an edge in a tournament honoring the memory of Father Gerry Condon, a tournament that is a fund-raiser for church youth. But, alas, even with one outstanding shot by Father Thankachan, the team could not best the team of Joe Lindsay. Last Saturday, 34 participants raised over $2000 for the scholarship fund of St. Patrick Church and had a great time doing so. They’re back… 400 of the dam goats first arrived and another 300 came a few days later to join the work party. So far, they have stayed where they belong. Soon the face of the dam might not look so green. Older but not really wis- er, this writer erroneously Thur., Sept. 1, 1:00pm: Tournament @ Dufur Sat., Sept. 3, 8:00am: Tour- nament @ Heppner Tue., Sept.6, 4:00pm: Tour- nament @ Echo decided that the Melan- choly Collie, Katie, would enjoy having a companion to share time with when the owner was busy on the computer, watching TV, or gone for lengthy times. So far, Lily, the CUTE yorkie-poo has yelped four times, followed by Katie quickly leaving the area. Maybe progress is being made after a week of avoiding Lily or in- serting herself into shared moments between puppy and owner, since Katie has calmly given Lily a thor- ough sniff test four times, without a curled lip. At least for a moment or two, your tidbit could turn someone’s frown upside down, so please think about sending your positive notes to dbros- nan123@gmail.com or call 541-223-1490. Please, share. Here’s hoping that some good news comes to ev- eryone reading this. WCCC Sunday Men’s Play Only 10 golfers participated in men’s play on Sunday August 28, at Willow Creek Country Club. Results are as fol- lows: Special Events: KP #2-11-Dave Pranger 33’; Long Putt #5/14 -Roger Ehrmantraut 2’7; Net- 1 st Roger Ehrmantraut, 55, 2 nd John Edmundson, 57; Gross-1 st -Rick Johnston, 68; 2 nd Tim Wright, 70. The next Sunday play will be the par 3 challenge on Sept. 4. Charlie Fer- guson will host this event. Wednesday night match play has concluded. Fol- lowing are the results: 1 st Wayne Seitz-Dale Boyd; 2 nd Marty Brannon-Jim Bleth; 3 rd Greg Greenup-Delbert Binschus; 4 th Tim Wright- Rod Wilson. A F F O R DA B L E F A M I LY E Y E W E A R LAZY DAYS OF B G USE YOUR HEALTH BENEFITS BEFORE THEY EXPIRE! 50 off % Frames & Lenses Or Eastern e g o n’s O N y LY Service a S a m e - D r ip t io n c fo r P r e s ! Lenses O p t ic a l O n -S it e Lab! Equal or Lesser Value * *Excludes Maui Jim, WileyX, Oakley, and special order lenses and frames. 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