Volleyball: Eagles, Outlaws

Published 10:41 pm Wednesday, September 20, 2023

POWDER VALLEY – The Joseph and Wallowa volleyball teams grabbed a look at the future league tournament as both teams were in Powder Valley on Saturday, Sept. 23 for the Old Oregon League Crossover tournament.

Joseph started the day early, hitting the court at 9 a.m. to meet Union. The Eagles only needed two sets to dispose of the Bobcats, winning the first set 25-19 followed by a second set 25-20 victory,

The Eagles made it a perfect day, downing Echo in the second match of the day, again needing only two sets. Joseph took the first set in dominant fashion, winning 25-13 and eased off a bit in the second, winning 25-17.

Joseph (13-5 overall, 3-1 1A Old Oregon League) stays with non-eague play on Thursday, Sept. 28, hosting the Jordan Valley Mustangs (9-2 overall) for a match starting at 4 p.m.

Wallowa also made the Crossover a perfect day, winning both matches, starting with a 2-1 victory over Pilot Rock. The Cougars allowed the Rockets a first-set win as Pilot Rock downed Wallowa 25-13. The Cougars rebounded in the second set to win 25-12 and closed out the match with a third set 15-12 win.

Wallowa finished the tournament with a convincing 2-0 victory over Elgin, taking both sets by identical scores of 25-17.

Wallowa (11-7 overall, 2-3 1A Old Oregon League) will take some time back on the practice court until Friday, Sept. 29 with a trip to Imbler to meet in league play with the Panthers (13-10 overall, 3-2 1A Old Oregon League).

Inconsistency costs OutlawsENTERPRISE — Outlaw volleyball fans may well have returned home on Tuesday, Sept. 19 scratching their heads. Those in the stands witnessed the Enterprise volleyball team show glimpses of solid play followed by missed serves and problems on the receiving end.

In the end, the Outlaws fell to 1A Elgin, 1-3 in nonleague action.

Enterprise started strong, winning a well-fought first set 25-22. Elgin returned in the second set to knot up the match with a 25-18 victory and grabbed a 2-1 lead with a 25-22 win in the third set.

The fourth and deciding set went to extra points as the two teams battled back and forth before the visiting Huskies boarded the bus with a 27-25 victory and the match.

“Our defense and our team communication were both good tonight,” said Enterprise coach Lisa Farwell. “We just played inconsistent throughout the night. We were streaky with our serving and our serve/receive. Elgin was able to capitalize on that.”

Enterprise (3-10 overall, 0-2 2A Blue Mountain Conference) is back on the home court on Thursday, Sept. 21 to face off against the TigerScots of Weston-McEwen (5-8 overall, 0-2 2A Blue Mountain Conference), a match in which one team will pick up its first conference win. There is an early 5 p.m. start for the game.

Joseph beats ImblerJOSEPH — The Joseph volleyball team took its second 1A Old Oregon League victory with a 3-1 showing over the Imbler Panthers on Thursday, Sept. 21 in the Joseph gym.

The Panthers shocked Joseph in the first set after the two teams went into extra points and Imbler won a tight 26-24 game.

“We came out a bit flat but were able to gain momentum in the second set,” said Joseph coach Jill Hite.

The second set also saw extra points needed before a victor was decided as Joseph evened up the match, winning 28-26.

“Our serving dropped off in the second set,” Hite said of the close game.

The third set was all Eagles as Joseph cruised 26-16 and the match was decided after the Eagles won the fourth set, 25-18.

“We came back strong in the third and fourth set with a lot of positive energy and played strong defense,” said Hite. Lakota Steel showed overall hustle but overall, it was a great team effort.”

Offensively, Cooper Nave led Joseph in kills.

Joseph jumps to No. 7WILSONVILLE — The state’s volleyball coaches have not given their opinions for a few weeks, but on Friday, Sept. 22, the newest coaches’ poll was released by the Oregon School Activities Association.

The Joseph Eagles continue to inch upward in the minds of the coaches, moving to seventh in the recent poll, up from eighth in the last one.

Crane continues to lead the voting among the coaches, followed by Trinity Lutheran, St. Paul, Powder Valley and Crosshill Christian rounding out the top five.