Fruitland host tourney
By Argus Observer Sports Staff
Sunday, September 16, 2007 2:02 AM PDT
Jordan Valley - Faced with their toughest test of the season, the Jordan Valley volleyball team flexed its muscles against Crane Friday, winning 3-1 in High Desert League action in Jordan Valley.
Crane won the opening game in dramatic fashion 25-23, before Jordan Valley buckled down to win the second game 25-5.
“The first game was fairly close and I think there was quite a bit of nerves on each side of the net,” Jordan Valley head coach Jacque Naegle said. “We were a little disappointed that we let the first one get by us and the second game the girls just came out hard behind some really tough serving by Jessie White and took control.”
The Mustangs kept the momentum going winning the next two games, 25-20 and 25-18 to complete the win.
Nickie Naegle had a monster match with 33 assists and four digs, while teammate Kayla Cuvelier chipped in 10 kills and six blocks.
Athena Beckwith tallied six kills, Elisa Eiguren added five and Jessie White had an all-round match with three kills, two digs and a block.
“The varsity game was great,” Jacque Naegle said. “We finished really strong. We do have things we still need to work on but we are headed down the right road and I am really proud of the girls. They are just great.”
Jordan Valley (3-1 overall, 2-0 HDL) next faces off with Burnt River Friday in Unity.
Adrian
The Adrian Antelopes left nothing to chance Friday sweeping both Spray and Mitchell in three straight games Friday in High Desert League volleyball action in Adrian.
Against Spray, the Antelopes won 25-18, 25-22 and completed the sweep with a dominating 25-13 win.
Paige Branstiter notched 13 kills and two service aces, while teammate McKenzie Purnell chipped in seven assists, two kills and two service aces to lead the Antelopes.
“We seemed to play a little slow on the ball and made too many service errors for my liking,” Adrian head coach Aimee Goss said. “The girls did a nice job of digging in though and finished with a win.”
The junior varsity squad went toe-to-toe with Mitchell and had no problems at all with the Loggers.
Adrian won in three straight taking the opener 25-7 and the second game 25-20, before completing the sweep with a 25-9 win in the third game.
“I was happy with how some of my younger players handled the match and shows promise for the future of our program here at Adrian,” Goss said.
Adrian (7-0 overall) played in the Cole Valley Volleyball tournament Saturday.
Cole Valley
The Parma Panther volleyball team knocked out the host team on their way to a third place finish in the Cole Valley Volleyball tournament this weekend.
Against Cole Valley, the Lady Panthers needed only two games to secure the win, 25-17 and 25-19.
Kali Roache helped her teammates in the win with eight kills, seven digs and no hitting errors. Whitney Rohrbacher tallied eight kills, Alli Nielsen served up five aces to go along with two kills and Breanna Stell earned nine assists in the two game win.
“We passed well. Earlier in the year, we lost to them in five games,” Parma head coach Jeana Critchfield said. “We got kills left and right, and we stayed positive.”
In their second game of the tournament, the Lady Panthers fell to a scrappy New Plymouth team who beat them in three games. 25-23, 23-25 and 15-12.
Roache had11 kills and eight digs, Rohrbacher worked for nine kills and solo block, Nielsen got four kills. Kimbra Roche had seven digs and Stell led the team with 10 assists.
“It was a tough matchup. We played them tough the first time we seen them,” Critchfield said. “We play them again Tuesday at home. We need play better on defense. They are a good team. When you get a kill against a team like that it is a big thing.”
Parma will be on the road Monday against Nyssa, then again on Tuesday as they travel to New Plymouth and then wrap up the week with a home date on Thursday against Melba.
“It is going to be a tough week. All three teams are solid,” Critchfield said.
