Crescent Valley (5A), Marist Catholic (4A), Sisters (3A), Portland Christian (2A), Crane (1A) join Jesuit (6A) as volleyball champions; vote for Saturday's top star
The Oregon high school volleyball playoffs concluded Saturday with state championship matches and other placing matches in all classifications. Here are some of the highlights and top performers.
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Photos by Dan Brood
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CLASS 6A
Full story:
CLASS 5A
Crescent Valley coach Troy Shorey said his team’s road to a second consecutive OSAA Class 5A state championship wasn’t as hard as one might expect.
“We did have to change the mentality from the team that is coming up to the team that everyone wants to knock off,” Shorey said Saturday evening after the Raiders’ four-set victory over Bend at Forest Grove High School in a rematch of last year’s state final.
“But with the level we play at and the pace, many teams haven’t seen it and struggle with it. The challenge was to get them engaged and was to keep them motivated.”
So, Shorey integrated new drills into practices that not only challenged his team physically but mentally as well. The result was a 22-2 season capped with a 25-17, 25-16, 21-25, 25-8 victory.
For a program that hadn’t reached a final until last season and won just two of 11 matches during the abbreviated spring 2021 season, the rise to the top of the 5A heap might appear rapid. And Shorey said don’t expect a dropoff anytime soon.
“I don’t feel like this program is going anywhere but where they are at,” he said. “The main core is returning with some talent to fill in the open spots. This team will be good for years to come.”
The Raiders spread the wealth in the championship match, with three players — Bella Jacobsen, Vivian Buford and Taelyn Bentley — recording 14 kills each. Setter Kamden Mitchell had 33 assists and 12 digs, and Jacobsen and libero Dani Street had 21 digs apiece.
Cal Poly commit Chloe LeLuge led the Lava Bears (16-4) with 21 kills and 12 digs.
Thurston defeated Crater in five sets to place third, and West Albany beat crosstown rival South Albany in five sets in the fourth-place match.
Julia Cook had 15 kills and 18 digs for the Colts in their third-place match, and setter Emily Buller had 31 assists, 11 digs and four aces. Savannah Efseaff added 10 kills and 12 digs, Scout Martin had eight kills, 10 digs and four blocks, and Bailey Tovey had 19 digs, two aces and three blocks.
CLASS 4A
Marist Catholic and Marshfield split their Sky Em League regular-season matches to share the league title.
So, it should come as no surprise that when the teams met at Springfield High School to decide the 4A state championship, it took five sets before the Spartans emerged victorious, dethroning the defending champions 19-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 17-15.
“It was a tough battle, just how a championship match should be,” said Spartans coach Shari Pimental. “Our girls played hard. Stayed tougher and followed our game plan. We are very proud, not only as volleyball players but as great young women that pull for each other. No egos.”
The Spartans trailed 23-22 in the fourth set, but Kimmy Spurloch had two kills to force the match to a fifth set. There, they had match point at 14-13, but Bridget Gould saved it for the Pirates. An attack error gave the Pirates a match point, but Avia Tuguldur’s kill tied the score at 15-15, and her block gave the Spartans a second match point.
Giana Elgarico, who had a match-high 28 kills (.367 hitting), served the final point to give the Spartans (23-2) their first state title since 1999.
Tuguldur had 16 kills and 13 digs, and Avy Roundy added seven kills and six blocks. Lauren Rohman dished out 56 assists with seven kills and 12 digs.
Gould, a University of Oregon commit, led the Pirates (27-4) with 27 kills (.344 hitting), three blocks and 10 digs. Tatum Montiel added 20 kills and 10 digs, Alie Clark had seven kills, and Ava Ainsworth had 56 assists, six kills, 15 digs and two blocks.
Cascade swept Mazama in the third-place match, and North Bend defeated Tillamook for fourth place.
CLASS 3A
Since Sisters won its previous OSAA state title in 2017, the Outlaws had finished runner-up once, third twice and fourth once before finally earning another blue trophy this weekend, defeating Mountain Valley Conference rival Pleasant Hill in four sets in the championship match at Springfield High School.
“It was so exciting. The girls played so well, and it was well-deserved,” coach Rory Rush said of the 23-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-18 victory.
Gracie Vohs, the reigning 3A player of the year who is headed to Saint Mary’s College next year, led the Outlaws (25-2) with 20 kills, 18 digs and three aces.
Kathryn Scholl added 14 kills, Bailey Robertson had 11 kills and five blocks, Gracelyn Myhre had 11 kills and 12 digs, and setter Holly Davis had 49 assists, 14 digs and three aces.
Cheyenne Green led the Billies (24-4) with 25 kills, Ruby Jackson had 10 kills, and Claire Crawford had 34 assists, eight kills, 17 digs and two blocks.
Pleasant Hill was playing in its first final since the inaugural OSAA tournament in 1974.
Valley Catholic, which won the title last season, took third with a three-set sweep of Santiam Christian. Cascade Christian beat Burns in four sets in the fourth-place match.
CLASS 2A
Portland Christian secured its first state title since 2018 and fourth overall by dethroning two-time defending champion Salem Academy in a five-set thriller at Ridgeview High School in Redmond.
The Royals (21-1) let two match points slip away in the fifth set before Finley Marine’s kill earned them a third, which Marine converted with a service ace to complete a 22-25, 26-24, 16-25, 25-22, 16-14 victory.
“This has been nothing but a dream, taking this young team all the way to the end and pushing through to a five-set win,” coach Denetia Chimuku said. “There were moments where it felt like we were looking at David and Goliath, because everyone said that Salem Academy had the experience that we did not.
“But I think our youth and experience ended up working to our advantage. This team doesn’t give up. We came from behind multiple times and took over momentum.”
Marine finished with 30 kills and 18 digs. Alyssa Baird added 25 kills (.400 hitting) and 19 digs, Addison Johanson had nine kills, and Payton Becker handed out 60 assists to go with six kills.
Emma Brewer had a match-high 31 kills, four blocks and 22 digs for the Crusaders (21-7), who had a 12-match playoff win streak snapped. Maddie Robertson added 14 kills, and Haley Krieger and Maya Cooke combined for 46 assists and 18 digs.
Western Christian swept Oakridge in the third-place match. Grant Union downed Lowell in four sets to place fourth.
CLASS 1A
Top seed Crane earned the first state title in program history with a four-set victory over St. Paul, 25-22, 21-25, 25-12, 26-24 at Ridgeview High School.
Kortney Doman led the Mustangs (33-2) with 37 kills (.351 hitting), four aces, six digs and two blocks. Kaitlyn Siegner added six kills and five aces, and Kendal Nichols had 46 assists and eight digs.
The Buckaroos (26-10), the No. 6 seeds playing in their fourth OSAA final in the past five seasons, were led by Audra Rose with 18 kills (.308 hitting) and four blocks. Meredith Coleman added 15 kills and nine digs, and Gracie Koch had 30 assists.
Powder Valley held off Umpqua Valley Christian 19-17 in the fifth set to take home the third-place trophy. Trinity Lutheran also needed five sets to defeat Joseph in the fourth-place match.
Trinity Lutheran swept Crosshill Christian in a consolation semifinal despite eight kills from Ellie Bartell, six kills and four blocks by Ryland Minnick, and 14 digs from Hannah Dripps.
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