Lumberjack volleyball gets first win in two years

By Argus Observer Sports Staff
Friday, September 7, 2007 10:59 AM PDT

Council — It was rivalry night in Council and the Lumberjacks finally found the winner’s circle for the first time in two years.

The Lumberjacks and the Tri-Valley Titans battled to another classic duel and Council walked away with the 3-2 win over the Titans in Long Pin Conference volleyball action Thursday in Council.

Both teams flip-flopped wins through the first four games with Tri-Valley taking the opener 25-17. Council evened the match at 1, with a 25-17 win and the Titans regained control and took a 2-1 lead with a 25-17 win.

The Lumberjacks bounced back to tie the match at 2 with a 25-16 win and they sent the Titans packing with a 15-5 win.

Olivia McDaniel racked up 10 kills, while teammate Mickinna Murphy tallied 38 assists and Emma George had five digs.

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“It’s always hard to know with Tri-Valley. They always want to beat us,” Council head coach Amy Shumway said. “It’s very competitive between both schools. The rivalry is strong and it’s always a battle. This win will be a huge confidence booster for them.”

Council (3-0 overall, 2-0 league) next hosts Horseshoe Bend Tuesday.

Parma

Parma battled through a hard fought third game to come away with a three game sweep over Homedale Thursday evening, winning 25-20, 24-21 and 25-23.

Parma head coach Jeana Critchfield said her team is playing well. “Tonight we played mentally tough. We were down in the third match, but the girls battled back for the win.”

With the win over Homedale, the Parma Lady Panthers improved to 3-0 on the year.

Critchfield added her team is improving on staying focused and are becoming more consistent.

Parma was led by Kali Roche with seven kills, 17 digs and three blocks.

Aiding the Lady Panthers in victory was Whitney Rohrbacher with six kills, one service ace, 10 digs and two blocks. Whitney Asbury, the Lady Panther libero contributed with six digs, while Alli Nielsen tallied four kills, one ace and assisted with two blocks. The teams leading setter, Alysha Rohrbacher padded her stats with nine assists and an ace.

Parma will next serve on Sept. 11 at Cole Valley Christian. The varsity will volley at 7 p.m. as Parma begins league play.

Weiser

The Weiser volleyball team dropped three straight games Thursday night to Baker, after leading 2-0. In a hard fought contest, the Lady Wolverines drop to 1-4 on the year.

Weiser began the night with a 2-13 win in Game 1 and followed that with a 28-26 win before Baker made its comeback.

In Game 3 the two squads battled to a 26-24 finish with Baker picking up its first win of the night, then followed with another in Game 4, 25-18.

In the fifth and final match, Weiser ran out of gas losing 15-9.

“We started out strong. We blocked well, we hit the ball hard and we had some strong serves” Weiser head volleyball coach Chris Courter said. “Then we got behind and struggled to come back. We missed serves and did not do a good job hitting the ball.”

Courter said Baker played excellent defense and were hustling all over the floor.

“We were playing catch up the whole time,” the coach said.

Courter added her middle players had some nice hits and Mary Lancaster had some good digs. She added that Nicole Edwards and Liz Richie also had some good hits.

In the final three games, Couter said the Baker defense made adjustments to the left hand hitting of Anna Overgaard, causing her attacks to be less successful.

“We are a young team, but every game we improve a portion,” Courter said. “And Baker is well a coached team.”

Weiser will be back on the court Sept. 11, in McCall as they begin Snake River League play. The match will begin at 5 p.m.

Nyssa

Katie Booth had an all-around game with five assists and three digs but it wasn’t enough as the Nyssa volleyball team lost in three straight to Cole Valley Christian Thursday in non-league volleyball action in Nyssa.

The Chargers dominated from the get-go as they posted a 25-13 win in the opener and kept the roll going with a 25-16 win in the second game.

Cole Valley then completed the sweep with a 25-17 in the decisive third game.

Kimber Wagstaff and Victoria Rodriguez each chipped in three kills apiece to lead the Bulldog frontline.

“We played good for spurts of 10 points, then they (Cole Valley) would jump ahead,” Nyssa head coach Jessica Rodriguez said. “It’s just you cant come from 10-11 point deficits. We worked really hard to get back in it. We played some good rallies. We’re still trying to figure out how to play as a team and that’s is our biggest struggle.”

Nyssa (0-2 overall) next plays in the Burns volleyball tournament starting Saturday.