Volleyball: Joseph, Wallowa compete at East West Classic

Published 1:03 pm Monday, September 18, 2023

POWDER VALLEY — Both the Joseph and Wallowa volleyball teams spent much of the weekend in Powder Valley, taking on a host of competitors during the East West Classic.

Coach Janea Young and the Wallowa Cougars chose only to take the court on Friday, Sept. 15, falling in both matches played. Wallowa opened the Classic with a 0-2 loss to Union after the Bobcats downed Wallowa 25-19 and 25-17.

Wallowa immediately took the court again, this time falling to South Wasco County. The Redsides grabbed the win over the Cougars 25-14 and 25-17.

The two losses halted a four-game win streak the Cougars had established before making the trip to Powder Valley.

Wallowa (9-5 overall, 2-1 1A Old Oregon League) faces an important date Friday, Sept. 22. Two league opponents will be in the Cougar gym starting with a 10:30 a.m. match as the Powder Valley Badgers (12-4 overall, 3-0 1A Old Oregon League) hit the court. Later in the day, starting at 5:30 p.m., Wallowa welcomes Joseph (9-4 overall, 1-0 1A Old Oregon League) in league play.

Attending the East West Classic for two days, Joseph played five matches for the tournament. Friday, Sept. 15 proved to be a good day for the Eagles as the team swept the competition starting with a 2-0 victory over 3A Nyssa (25-7, 25-15).

Jumping right back on the court, Joseph took a victory over Damascus Christian (25-12, 25-21) and finished the perfect day with a 2-0 win over Crosshill Christian (25-13, 26-24).

Saturday, Sept. 16 proved to be the opposite as Joseph fell in three matches played. Early in the morning, Grant Union downed the Eagles 2-0 (25-17, 25-14) followed by Adrian also taking a win over Joseph (25-19, 25-10). The rough day ended with 4A Baker beating the Eagles 2-0 (25-21, 27-25).

Joseph (9-4 overall, 1-0 1A Old Oregon League) returns to league play on Thursday, Sept. 21 hosting Imbler (9-9 overall, 1-1 1A Old Oregon League) with a start time of 7 p.m.

Cougars claim league winEarlier in the week, the Joseph volleyball team opened the 1A Old Oregon League season on the road with a 3-1 win over the Cove Leopards on Tuesday, Sept. 12.

The Eagles started the match strong, cruising over Cove 25-18. Cove evened up the match with a 25-22 victory over the Eagles.

The third set went back and forth between the two teams and extended into extra points before Joseph was able to take away a 26-24 win. Using the momentum from the third set victory, the Eagles cruised in the fourth set, 25-11, for the Old Oregon opener win.

“The girls came out a bit flat, missing quite a few serves in the first two sets,” Joseph coach Jill Hite said. “They started to gain momentum in the third and we finally hit our stride in the fourth set.”

Hite said the credit for the road win spread out among the squad.

“Senior Lakotah Steel had an amazing all-around game with her defense and heart unmatched,” Hite said. “Senior Abby Orr, our libero, continues to be defensively tough and senior Aimee Meyers led us in assists and leadership on the floor.”

The Joseph offense was led by Cooper Nave, the kills leader in the match.

“Emmerson Hook, our defensive specialist, adds a key voice in the back row,” Hite said. “Overall, I was proud of the team’s perseverance in this match.”

Enterprise in Riverside

RIVERSIDE — The Enterprise volleyball returned home after a day of three matches, winning one match and losing two in the Riverside Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 16 in the Pirate gym.

The day started early for the Outlaws as the team took the court versus the host Riverside Pirates.

Facing the 3A team, Enterprise saw Riverside open their own tournament with a 2-1 victory over the Outlaws. Riverside opened the match with a first set 25-22 win with Enterprise fighting back in the second set to even up the match after winning 25-20. Enterprise dropped the third set to Riverside 10-15 to take the loss.

It was the same 2-1 result by the same score as Enterprise met the Washington team of White Salmon in the second match of the day. The Washington squad grabbed the first set 25-11 with the Outlaws winning the second, 25-16. The Outlaws again had problems in the tie-breaking set, as White Salmon took a 15-13 victory.

Enterprise took their victory of the day taking the court versus 3A Umatilla. This match proved to be all Outlaws with Enterprise cruising in the first set 25-12 followed by a quick win in set two, 25-11.

Earlier in the week, the Enterprise volleyball squad fell to the Irrigon Knights in 2A Blue Mountain Conference play on Thursday, Sept. 14.

The Knights cruised over the Outlaws in the first set, 25-11, before Enterprise returned to knot up the match in the second set, beating Irrigon 25-23.

The Outlaws were unable to maintain the momentum of the victory, falling in the third set, 13-25. The match closed out when Irrigon downed the Outlaws in the fourth set, 25-10.

Now back home, Enterprise (3-9 overall) fans will see the team on the home court on Tuesday, Sept. 19 with a nonleague match versus Elgin (4-4 overall). The first serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.