The 2A and 1A volleyball tournaments in Redmond had some surprises but the top seeds, Crosshill Christian in 2A and defending champion Crane in 1A, escaped the turmoil to get to the championship matches.
Crosshill Christian swept both Clatskanie and Stanfield to get to the 2A final.
The Eagles will take a 28-match and 74-set winning streak to the championship match.
They almost dropped a set to Clatskanie in the quarterfinal, and needed 32 points in the second set to prevail. The Eagles got 10 kills each from Ryland Minnick and Ellie Bartel in the win and Sierra Poush contributed clutch serving in tough moments.
Natalie Baker had 12 kills, nine digs, four blocks and four aces in the loss for Clatskanie, which put up a good fight, and had 12 aces overall, but was doomed by too much nervous play, said head coach Amanda Baker.
Crosshill Christian had an easier time in the semifinals, yielding no more than 17 points in any one set to Stanfield, which was coming off of a five-set quarterfinal win over Weston-McEwen. Crosshill Christian had consistent success on the first two contacts, allowing both Minnick and Bartel, who combined for 24 kills; to thrive. Minnick also was a wall defensively, with seven blocks, and Poush served five aces.
“We are so excited to be playing for the championship,” coach Julie Bennett said. “We have trained all year for this moment and are ready!”
Salem Academy reached the final by sweeping Heppner in the quarterfinals before exacting revenge on defending champion Portland Christian in the semis. The Crusaders won State in 2021 and 2022 before losing to upstart Portland Christian last year in the championship match.
Portland Christian needed a big comeback even to get to the semifinals. The Royals trailed two sets to none to Western Christian before winning the final three in a stunning reversal.
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Defending champion Crane headlines the 1A championship match. The Mustangs rode a big game from sophomore Kaitlyn Seigner (18 kills; six aces) to a four-set win over Central Christian in the quarterfinals. The team played nervous and made too many unforced errors, but “found a way to win together when we weren’t playing our best,” said coach Maddye Wester. “Our overall play improved each set.”
An impressive four-set win over perennial power St. Paul followed in the semifinals.
Crane got 17 kills from Seigner and 11 kills apiece from Ava Bowen and Cara Goss Bodily to down the Buckaroos.
“They came prepared for a battle,” Wester said of her team. They played with energy and mental toughness and stuck together as a team through it all.”
St. Paul reached the semifinals by getting 21 kills from star Audra Rose in a sweep of a young Imbler team whose best years may well lie ahead.
Crane will take on Union for the title. The third-seeded Bobcats stormed through Friday with sweeps of North Valley and Umpqua Valley Christian.
Union coach Madison Elliott described her team as a “well-oiled machine” in its quarterfinal win over North Valley.
“We were serving tough and had only three missed serves for the entire three sets we played,” she added. “We rarely let the ball drop and our serve receive was great!”
The semifinal win over second-seeded UVC required a total team effort. Sawyer Shoemaker played smart as a setter and hitter. Paisley Miller showed great leadership and piled up the points on front row swings and back row aces. Kaelyn Shoemaker’s demoralizing blocks had UVC turning to tipping. Joslyn Miller and Kimber Ricker were key serve receive passers. They did not let one ball drop on defense and had exceptional passes to jump start the offense.
