Undefeateds

The calendar tells us it’s October. Two hundred and seventy-three teams (273) have been playing girls volleyball since Aug. 29 – just over a month – and do you know how many teams remain unbeaten?

Three!

That’s it!

Defending 6A champion Jesuit is 12-0) and dropped its first set of the year last Tuesday in a 3-1 win over Beaverton, but won the other three, 25-8, 25-8, 25-10.

Staying unbeaten gets a lot tougher this weekend, as Jesuit, along with fellow Oregon teams St. Paul, South Medford and South Salem, travel to Phoenix for the Nike Tournament of Champions, which also features Arizona power Xavier College Prep and California superpowers Mater Dei and Marymount.

South Albany, with Crescent Valley senior transfer Taelyn Bentley fitting in nicely, stands 15-0 in 5A after 2-0 wins over Crater, Bend and 6A Oregon City at the State Preview on Saturday.

Last, but certainly not least, is Pleasant Hill at 16-0. The 3A runners up a year ago haven’t dropped a set since mid-September and have registered impressive sweeps of Crook County and defending 4A state champion Marist Catholic since.

Of the three remaining unbeaten teams, Jesuit is the clearest favorite to win a state title if it stays injury-free. South Albany is next in a 5A classification that feels a little down. Pleasant Hill is in stacked 3A and will have to contend with the likes of Valley Catholic, Burns, Santiam Christian. Corbett, Coquille and Dayton to capture its first state title in program history.

Still searching…

There remains at least one team in each classification yet to record its first win – nine in all. We will not list them here, but send good wishes their way for victories on the scoreboard to match the effort they are giving to the game in practice and matches.

Tournaments galore!

There were a ton of tournaments last weekend up and down the I-5 corridor.

In Tigard, Westside Christian won its own round-robin event despite being down three starters on the day. The Eagles (11-3) did not drop a set behind a middle, Kinley Deewall; and a DS, Samantha Shepard; who played outside and shined across all eight sets. The duo combined for 10 kills, four aces and almost 13 digs per set according to coach Kristina Thom. Sheridan won three of four matches to take second.

Western Christian and North Bend also were among teams capturing titles.

News and notes

La Grande has its Pink & Purple game coming up. 

A member of the Tiger team and her three cousins, who are all in middle school; have organized a fundraiser to help two local students who have childhood cancer.

“It is a wonderful thing that these four kids are doing,” said La Grande head coach Melinda Becker-Bisenius.

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Central Christian continued its season of growth by winning three times between Thursday and Saturday with a Ducks match in between. The Tigers started with a win at Rogue Valley Christian and then won twice on Saturday over North Douglas and Oakridge to improve to 15-2 on the year.

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St. Mary’s School of Medford went 5-1 on Saturday at the Creswell Tournament, which Western Christian won. Coach Kate Miller said it was the Crusaders’ best performance of the year. St. Mary’s lost in the semifinals to power hitting Stayton, but had strong performances from OH Ada Bernard, libero Lexi Smith and setter Ella Yeamans.

Single-match stat stars

We are asking coaches on our bulk email list weekly to help compile a list of astounding single-game statistical achievements! We will keep a running tally of players who stat at these levels for a single match:

50 assists or more in a match

25 kills or more in a match

30 digs or more in a match

8 blocks or more in a match

10 aces or more in a match

Here’s what we have so far…

50 or more assists in a match

54 – Abby Maulding, 5-9 Jr. S, La Salle Prep (5A) – Sept. 12 versus Canby

25 or more kills in a match

35 -- Avery Herber, 6-2 Soph. OH, Western Christian (2A) – Sept. 5 versus Crosshill Christian 

34 – Ada Bernard, 5-9 Jr. OH, St. Mary’s School, Medford (3A) – Sept. 19 versus Lakeview

32 -- Mayenabasi Akpan, 6-3 Jr. OH/MB, South Medford (6A) – Sept. 4 versus Foothill (Palo Cedro)

30 – Audra Rose, 6-3 Sr. MB, St. Paul (1A) – Aug. 31 versus Culver

29 -- Mayenabasi Akpan, 6-3 Jr. OH/MB, South Medford (6A) – Sept. 17 versus Roseburg

28 – Tatum Montiel, 5-11 Sr. Oh, Marshfield (4A) – Aug. 30 versus Cascade

27 -- Akylah Kaino, 6-1 Sr. OH, Burns (3A) – Sept. 10 versus Pendleton

27 -- Mayenabasi Akpan, 6-3 Jr. OH/MB, South Medford (6A) – Sept. 4 versus Chico

27 -- Mayenabasi Akpan, 6-3 Jr. OH/MB, South Medford (6A) – Sept. 19 versus Sheldon

26 – Hayley Schaaf, 6-3 Jr. MB, Catlin Gabel (3A) – Sept. 7 versus Amity

26 – Audra Rose, 6-3 Sr. MB, St. Paul (1A) – Aug. 30 versus Central Christian

26 – Allison Waechter, 6-0 Jr. OH, Sutherlin (3A) – Sept. 12 versus Harrisburg

26 – Josie Essner, 5-10 Sr. MB, Monroe (2A) – Sept. 7 versus Oakridge

30 or more digs in a match

34 -- Lindsey Arritola, 5-4 Jr. OH, Blanchet Catholic (3A) – Sept. 5 versus Scio

31 -- Coley Gibbs, 5-7 Jr. OH, Pilot Rock / Ukiah (1A) – Sept. 21 versus Cove

30 -- Nadia Gremar, 5-6 Jr. OH, Knappa (2A) – Sept. 10 versus Vernonia

8 or more blocks in a match

10 – Ryland Minnick, 6-1 Jr. MB, Crosshill Christian (2A) – Sept. 17 versus Amity

9 – Lydia Grassman, 5-10 Jr. OH, Franklin (6A) – Sept. 3 versus Liberty

9 – Braeli Martin, 6-0 Sr. MB, West Salem (6A) – Sept. 3 versus South Salem

8 – Audra Rose, 6-3 Sr. MB, St. Paul (1A) – Aug. 30 versus Central Christian

8 – Addyson Clark, 5-11 Sr. MB, Sutherlin (3A) – Sept. 12 versus Harrisburg

10 or more aces in a match

14 – Catherine Chang, 5-7 RS/S, Westview (6A) – Sept. 12 versus Aloha

13 – Bella Slattum, 5-8 Sr. S, West Salem (6A) – Sept. 5 versus North Salem

11 -- Callie Turner, 5-4 Sr. S, Century (6A) – Sept. 12 versus Liberty

11 -- Callie Turner, 5-4 Sr. S, Century (6A) – Sept. 3 versus Southridge

11 – Alyssa Baird, 5-11 Sr. Oh, Portland Christian (2A) – Sept. 19 versus Gaston

10 – Irene Rocha Ibarra, 5-8 Jr. S, Cascade (4A) – Sept. 26 versus North Marion

10 – Addison Herber, 6-1 Soph. MB, Western Christian (2A) – Sept. 26 versus Delphian

Coaches may email [email protected] to add to the list at any time. Please replicate the format seen above.

College-Bound!

In this space, we list those players, in the current senior class and younger, who have made a commitment to attend a college or university of their choice and play volleyball.

Here’s who we have so far. We will add to this list in subsequent notebooks as we receive notifications.

Ava Ainsworth, 6-1 Sr. S, Marshfield – Western Oregon University

Addy Azavedo, 5-7 Sr. libero, Jesuit -- Washington

Madi Andrews, 6-1 Jr. OH, Nelson – Michigan State

Taelyn Bentley, 5-11 Sr. MB, South Albany – South Florida

Mylee Blake, 6-1 Sr. OH, West Albany -- Montana

Emma Brewer, 6-0 Jr. OH, Salem Academy – University of San Diego

Katie Brewer, 6-1 Sr. MB, Centennial - Portland State

Jackie Carle, 5-7 Sr. S/DS, Jesuit – Washington State

Emma Comer, 5-4 Sr. libero, Oregon City – Eastern Oregon University

Giana Elgarico, 5-11 Sr. OH Marist Catholic – University of Oregon

Joya Euhus, 6-1 Sr. OH, Santiam Christian -- Houston Christian University

Emma Fauth, 6-0 Sr. OH, Wilsonville – Humboldt State

Cheyenne Green, 6-1 Sr. OH, Pleasant Hill – Oregon State

Bailey Henderson, 5-4 Sr. libero, Century -- Pacific University

Hayden McGehee, 5-7 Sr. S, Jesuit – Belmont

Kamden Mitchell, 5-10 Sr. S, Crescent Valley -- University of Oregon

Evie Morrissette, 6-0 Sr. S, Sprague – Seattle University

Audra Rose, 6-2 Sr. MB, St. Paul – Seattle Pacific University

Avalynn Roundy, 6-2 Sr. MB, Marist Catholic -- Grand Canyon University

Hayley Schaaf, 6-3 Jr. MB, Catlin Gabel -- Northwestern

Steel Sinai, 6-4 Sr. MB, Westview -- Temple University 

Paige Thies, 6-2 Sr. OH, Oregon City -- University of Arizona

Callie Winebarger, 5-7 Sr. S, Crook County – MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kansas)

Email [email protected] to add commitments to the list. Please replicate the format you see above.