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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 14, 2018)
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018 Herald Sports HERMISTON FINISHES SEASON ONE WIN FROM STATE TOURNAMENT Follow sports on Twitter @HHeraldSports By ANNIE FOWLER STAFF WRITER A t the start of the season, the Hermiston volleyball team was in over its head in the highly competitive Mid-Columbia Con- ference. By the end of the season, they were one win away from going to the state tournament. The Bulldogs (8-12) swept Kami- akin, then dropped a three-set match to Southridge (18-10) on Saturday at the Region 5/8 tournament in Ken- newick. They came into Saturday after a win on Thursday, when Sophia Streeter had seven kills, and Ireland McDonough had eight aces and 13 digs to lead the Bulldogs (7-11) to a 25-15, 25-20, 25-23 victory over visit- ing Shadle Park. “I think most people thought com- ing into the league that we would be at the bottom,” Hermiston coach Amy Dyck said. “No reason we can’t believe we can fight for a berth to state. We far exceeded expectations. I am so proud of them.” Hermiston opened play Saturday with a 25-20, 26-24, 25-23 victory over Kamiakin in a loser-out match, beating the Braves for the first time this season. Sophia Streeter led the attack with seven kills and three blocks, while Scout Reagan added seven kills and four digs. “For us to take Kamiakin in three, and finish the match the way we wanted to play is huge for us,” Dyck said. “It’s a huge accomplishment for our seniors.” Tied at 6-6 in the first set, Ireland McDonough reeled off eight consecu- tive points for a 14-7 lead. The Braves chipped away at the lead until they forged an 18-18 tie. Hermis- ton led 21-20 when McDonough took her turn at the service line for the sec- ond time. Kamiakin’s Delaney Frame hit the ball out of bounds, Avery Tread- well had a kill for the Bulldogs, and Kendall Dowdy and Reagan blocked Autumn Zilar for a 24-20 lead. A tip by Reagan found an empty hole on the other side of the net for the win. Streeter had five of her kills in the second set, which was controlled by Kamiakin until the Bulldogs tied the score at 14-14. The Braves led 9-3 early on, but another strong performance at the ser- vice line by McDonough, and a couple of points by Dowdy, had the Bullodgs in contention. Tied at 22-22, Halee Stubbs gave the Bulldogs a 24-22 lead. The Braves tied the match at 24-all. A kill off a block gave Hermiston a 25-24 lead, and a kill by Dowdy gave the Bull- dogs a 2-0 lead. Hermiston took control of the third Above: The Hermiston Bulldogs celebrate their 3-0 win against Shadle Park on Thursday in Hermiston. Left: Hermiston’s Ireland McDonough digs the ball in the Bulldogs’ 3-0 win against Shadle Park on Thursday in Hermiston. STAFF PHOTOS BY E.J. HARRIS set after a 7-7 tie. The Bulldogs led 19-13, then had to hold off the Braves down the stretch, finishing the match with a kill by McDonough. Dowdy handed out 18 assists, along with five kills and seven digs, while McDonough had four aces and 18 digs, and Stubbs 24 digs. “I’m just waiting for them to finally believe they are capable of this,” Dyck said. “We just have to go out, play our butts off and take care of our side of the net.” The Bulldogs did not fare as well against Southridge. The Suns swept Hermiston 25-8, 25-18, 25-12 to punch their ticket to state. Hermiston started the match one player short as Reagan injured her left ankle in warmups and was unable to play. In the third set, Streeter injured her foot and had to come off the court. “Having that injury right before the match, then Sophia going down, things were stacked against us,” Dyck said. “It would have been easy to bail, but they didn’t. That shows what type of program we are building, and what we will have in the future.” Streeter had seven kills before she went down. Stubbs added 11 digs, while Dowdy had 11 assists, McDonough four kills and eight digs, and Haylee Hamilton three aces and four digs. Sophia Sumner led the Suns with 14 kills, while Ashlyn Dupuis added 10 kills and four aces, Bobbi New- ton seven kills and four aces, and Ken- nedy Conrad 15 assists. “They definitely earned it,” South- ridge coach Emily Otto said of her team’s berth to state. “I am so excited and proud of them. They have over- come a lot and they wanted it. They have worked their tails off. All of them are able to play a lot of positions, and they take care of the ball.” Timberwolves off to regional tournament Irrigon’s Collins named MVP of EOL for volleyball By BRETT KANE STAFF WRITER Blue Mountian celebrated their conference-closing home match with a swift three-set victory over the Columbia Basin Hawks on Fri- day night. The Timberwolves downed the Hawks 25-10, 25-14, and 25-7 to secure the No. 3 spot in the east region standings and a trip to the Northwest Athletic Confer- ence tournament, where they last claimed the title in 2015. They’ll face the south’s No. 2-ranked Chemeketa in Tacoma on Nov. 15 to kick off the tournament. “Our team was confident offen- sively tonight, and had fun,” said head coach Jessica Humphreys. “We’re looking to bring that into the NWACs.” Blue Mountain played patient and assured on Friday, while the Hawks’ greatest vice was their lack of control. Columbia Basin hit five balls out of bounds in the first set alone. The Timberwolves pulled ahead with a 10-point lead twice. Blue Mountain setter Grace Roko injured her knee on a dig in the first set and spent the remain- der of the game getting treatment. STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY The Timberwolves’ Erin Kelly (18) and Ella Renzelman-Catt (15), of Columbia Basin College, battle at the net Friday at BMCC. She will be absent from this week’s tournament. The Hawks got the first two points in the second set before Tim- berwolves middle blocker Sydney Neuman strung together three kills and a block to regain dominance. The 6-foot-1 sophomore was a threat in the attack zone, record- ing eight kills with just one error and hitting .438 for her final home match. “That takes a lot of experience,” Humphreys said of Neuman’s per- formance. “She’s very methodi- cal and precise. It was nice to see her tee off on a couple of those sets tonight.” Columbia scored five points in set three before the Timberwolves pounded away with 14 consecu- tive scores to take a 19-5 lead. The Hawks recorded two more points, but Neuman and outside hitters Erin Kelly and Mariah Multon put the finishing touches on the Blue Mountain win. Brianna Cathers had nine kills and 20 digs, and setter Sophia Casarez had 23 assists for the match. “It was a great way to end our season with the rest of our soph- omores,” Neuman said. “We’re mentally stronger and know how to read the court better than (Colum- bia). If we keep it up, the NWACs will be a breeze.” the second team, while River- side middle Megan Hegar was selected to the honorable men- The Irrigon Knights made tion team. school history this season with The Knights finished third in their first trip to the 3A state vol- the EOL standings, but finished leyball tournament. second at district to qualify for state, where they were The honors keep roll- ing in for the team as swept by South Umpqua sophomore libero MaK- in the first round. enna Collins was named Irrigon also received the Sportsmanship Award the Eastern Oregon from the Blue Moun- League Player of the tain Conference Officials Year. Association, and had the Collins finished league highest GPA in the state play with 220 digs, and MaKenna among 3A volleyball served at 94 percent with Collins teams at 3.91. 11 aces. Collins was joined on the first Eastern Oregon League team by teammate Haley White, Player of the Year: MaKenna Collins, so., Irrigon. a junior outside hitter. White had of the Year: Paula Toney, Burns. 119 kills on the season, along Coach First team: MaKenna Collins, so., libero, Irrigon; Kaiden Raif, so., setter, Burns; Haley White, jr., with 25 blocks and 12 aces. She outside hitter, Irrigon; Emmy Johnson, so., middle, Vale; Jaymo Jensen, fr., outside hitter, Vale; Allie served at 84 percent. Hueckman, so., outside hitter, Burns. On the honorable men- Second team: Mariah Atencio, jr., middle, Burns; Schaffeld, sr., outside hitter, Vale; Jenna tion team, the Knights had set- Lexi Garner, jr., outside hitter, Burns; Sierra Cleaver, sr., hitter, Vale; Syriah Trujillo, jr., libero, Nyssa; ter Emma Mueller, outside hitter outside Charlene Alvarez, sr., outside hitter, Umatilla. Myka Davis and opposite hitter Honorable mention team: Lacy Singhose, sr., opposite hitter, Burns; Emma Mueller, so., setter, Nikki Phillips. Irrigon; Myka Davis, sr., outside hitter, Irrigon; Phillips, sr., opposite hitter, Irrigon; Maycee Umatilla outside hitter Char- Nikki Delong, jr., setter, Vale; DeMiah Hardin, jr., outside lene Alvarez was named to hitter, Vale; Megan Hegar, jr., middle, Riverside. By ANNIE FOWLER STAFF WRITER
