Joseph’s Caleigh Johnson sends the ball past Baker’s Sydney Penning (No. 6) during a nonleague match on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, at North Powder. The Eagles open Old Oregon League tournament play on Saturday at 9 a.m. at Baker High School.

BAKER — Joseph volleyball fans need to grab a cup of coffee and be out the door early on Saturday, Oct. 21, to catch the Eagles in the second round of the Old Oregon League volleyball tournament.

After finishing the regular season with an 8-2 league record, the Eagles sit fourth in the league standings.

With that standing, Joseph is set to take the court at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21 in the tournament’s second round at Baker High School.

Joseph will meet the winner of Tuesday’s play-in match between Cove (4-6 in league play) and Elgin (6-4 in league play). During the regular season, Joseph downed Cove on two occasions, beating the Leopards 3-1 on Sept. 12 and ending the regular season with a 3-0 victory over Cove on Oct. 14. The Eagles didn’t play Elgin during the regular season.

If Joseph wins that 9 a.m. match, the Eagles will face Union with the match scheduled for 11 a.m.

Earlier in the week, the Eagles broke out of a two-game skid and won a 3-2 contest versus Imbler on Tuesday, Oct. 10 in the Panther gym.

Imbler won the first set, 25-19 before Joseph returned in the second set to even up the game, winning 25-16.

Going into extra points in the third set, Joseph escaped with a 26-24 win, but allowed Imbler back into the match as the Panthers won the fourth set 25-22.

Joseph won the fifth and final set 15-11 to claim the victory.

The night was extraordinary for Joseph senior Cooper Nave, leading the Eagles offense with 35 kills.

Aimee Meyers led in digs with 27 while also adding 34 assists.

“The girls showed some true grit tonight,” said Joseph coach Jill Hite.

Joseph did struggle from the service line, ending the night at only 93 percent with Lakotah Steel recording only two aces, the sole ace serves for Joseph.

On Saturday, Oct. 7, the Joseph volleyball team witnessed and played some of the state’s top 1A volleyball teams in the state, attending the Eagle Invitational at Damacus Christian High School.

Joseph started the tournament right, taking a 2-1 victory over the host Eagles, winning 25-12, 15-25 and 15-10.

In Joseph’s second match of the day, the Eagles took on the Crane Mustangs. Winning the first set 25-17, Joseph saw Crane come back and take set two 25-15 and hand the Eagles a loss in the third set, 15-11.

Closing out the day, Trinity Lutheran downed the Eagles 25-21 and 25-18 as Joseph finished 1-2 for the tournament.

Outlaws, Cougars end seasonsIt has been a tough couple of weeks for the Enterprise volleyball team as the Outlaws closed out the season with nine straight losses.

The streak continued on Thursday, Oct. 12, with a road loss to Weston-McEwen. The Lady TigerScots downed the Outlaws 3-0, winning 25-10, 25-23 and 25-18.

Home fans had a final chance to see Enterprise on Saturday, Oct. 14 with Enterprise hosting Grant Union for the first match of the day. The Prospectors started the match with a 25-9 victory. The Outlaws played better in the second set, but lost 25-21. Grant Union closed out the 3-0 victory with a third set 25-10 win.

Later that same day, Enterprise hosted the Heppner Mustangs. Heppner was able to grab the first set, 25-20. The Outlaws rallied to claim the second set by a 25-23 tally. But the Mustangs took the third set, 25-16, and closed out the match in the fourth set, with a 25-9 victory.

Enterprise closes out the regular season with a 3-18 overall record, including an 0-10 mark in 2A Blue Mountain Conference matches.

Wallowa’s season ended on a high note, as the Cougars claimed a pair of wins over Elgin and Pine Eagle.

On Friday, Oct. 13, the Cougars dispatched Elgin in straight sets. The Cougars took the first set, 25-13, and then won the second set by a 25-23 tally. Wallowa wrapped up the home match with a 25-19 victory in the third set.

On Saturday, Oct. 14, the Cougars traveled to Pine Eagle and prevailed, again in straight sets. Details of that match were unavailable.

The Cougars finished the season with a 13-11 overall mark and were 3-7 in league play.