Cruise-adering
Defending 6A champion Jesuit is off to a scalding-hot start to 2024. The Crusaders are 6-0, have not yet dropped a set, and four of the team’s six wins have come against teams ranked in the 6A or 5A pre-season OSAAtoday top 10 coaches polls.
Veteran head coach Teresa Zimmerlee says that her “extremely athletic team of players” is improving every day.
Jesuit is in the enviable position of having a strong back row, where Addy Azavedo, Kiana Johnson and Julia Paulsen each has at least 25 digs. The Crusaders also are blessed at the setter position, as Hayden McGehee and Jackie Carle are both very experienced, play good defense and are Division I committed.
Add an attack where Jada Johnson, Iman Foster and Sadie Ross have combined for 124 kills and MB Alex Douglas is putting away more than half her swings and you have a very, very dangerous team. And here’s some more bad news for everyone else in 6A: Coach Zimmerlee said that the team’s blocking is getting better every match.
Let ‘em eat!
Mannahouse Christian Academy of Eugene is just in its second year having sports. The Lions went 0-15 in their first year and have only seven players on the team this season.
Despite the challenges, it did not take long for MCA to register its first-ever win. That came on Thursday over McKenzie and resulted even though the Lions’ starting setter was out with a knee injury.
“The rest of the team had to learn a new rotation in two practices, but they persevered with great attitudes,” noted head coach Ally Jagels.
Freshman Kennedy Dent stepped in to be a setter in the McKenzie win.
“Our strategy was keeping it simple and focusing on the basics,” Jagels explained.
Yee-haw!
1A North Lake had a good week last week, which is unusual so early in the season. The Cowboys, you see, are an agricultural community where most of the kids work and play three sports. Over Labor Day Weekend, the Lake County Fair dominates for several days and many of the players show animals for Future Farmers of America.
Despite the challenges and distractions, the girls put in the work and it paid off to the tune of a 3-1 start. North Lake won its first league match three days after Labor Day then won the East Linn Christian Tournament on the weekend, excelling behind the play of sophomores Acacia Roth and Cynthia Tobiasson.
Howling
Caldera’s 6-1 start has included wins over 2023 3A champion Sisters and 2022 6A champion Sheldon.
“This has truly been an awesome start to our season,” said head coach Alicia Roe-Rudloff, whose Wolfpack were 7-17 a year ago.
Caldera’s two returning captains, Avary Arment and Akela Utu, have been great leaders and have pushed their teammates to be their very best. The Wolfpack have also welcomed back powerhouse hitter and strong defender Kaialani Kelly, after she spent almost the entire 2023 season out injured.
“She’s back, and she’s a force!” exclaimed Roe-Rudloff.
“The girls have really embraced this underdog mentality and walk into every practice, goal setting session and game asking, ‘Why not us?’” Roe-Rudloff added. “And we have had very smart players on the court, able to run a dynamic and spread offense. It feels like we can flow like water out there.”
Believe in Billies
Pleasant Hill continues unbeaten and the clear 3A favorite this season. The Billies swept two-time defending 5A champion Crescent Valley among two Thursday wins. Cheyenne Green had 19 kills in the win over the champs, while Claire Crawford, Anna Crawford and Ruby Jackson also had strong efforts.
Claire Crawford has been a double-double machine, recording more than 10 assists and more than 10 digs in wins over Crescent Valley, Philomath and Cascade Christian.
Finding your inner Bulldog
West Albany was one of three ranked 5A teams, joining Thurston and Summit, to start the season 0-4. Megan Wallace’s team, ranked sixth in the pre-season 5A poll, lost to 6A powers Jesuit, Sprague, Oregon City and West Linn. The matches with all but Jesuit, at the Central Catholic Tournament, went the full three-sets.
“We knew going into the weekend that it was going to tough and we had the mentality of this being an opportunity to learn how we work as a team and build chemistry,” Wallace said. “We have a lot of new faces on the court this season after graduating a very solid senior class that had a lot of experience. While 0-4 is not ideal, I am actually very positive about how the weekend went because we competed and took three out of four 6A teams to three sets.”
This is a talented West Albany roster, but it is less experienced and will need to settle in and get comfortable on the court and with the pace of play.
“My message to them is we are not focused on what everyone else is doing; we are focused on us, building this team, and making gains every day because it's not how you start, it's how you finish, and we are learning how to finish strong,” Wallace stressed. “This group of girls is eager and strong mentally and physically and they are focused on being the best they can be in the moment to be better for the next challenge and each other. I am excited to see what this group can do because they are focused!”
News and notes
Clatskanie, ranked eighth in 2A, started the season with six straight wins and recently took third at the Warrenton Tournament.
“We have a lot of young talent and a strong senior captain in Natalie Baker, who has been a great leader for the team,” said head coach Amanda Baker. “We have done a bit of position swapping this year and have been seeing great things from sophomore setter Addy Compton. We have really been able to step up our offense with her setting and junior Joey Sizemore now swinging from the outside.”
Baker, Compton and Lacey Willis have all had big statistical matches across the first eight days of the year. Baker had 20 kills and three blocks in a 3-0 sweep of Warrenton on Sept. 5.
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Defending 1A champion Crane is undefeated through five matches. The Mustangs have been tested, though, and went five in their first match versus Vale and five again in their most recent win over Central Christian. Serving, passing and incredible defense, especially against Vale, has fueled the fast start, said head coach Maddye Wester.
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Once-mighty Ashland is off to a tough 1-8 start to 2024, but the Grizzlies got a strong defensive performance from junior libero Savannah Elster in a Thursday sweep at the hands of 6A Grants Pass.
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Crosshill Christian played in the St. Paul Tournament on Saturday and placed second behind Salem Academy. The Eagles defeated longtime rival St. Paul for the first time in the semifinals behind 6-1 middle Ryland Minnick and 6-4 middle Zoey Baker.
Minnick had 9 aces for the day, led the team in serve-receive passing and had 36 kills, while hitting at 29 percent. Baker contributed six solo blocks, and added 30 kills while hitting at 39 percent.
“It was a whole team effort for the day, working through challenges and successes together,” said coach Julie Bennett.
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St. Paul champion Salem Academy has started the season 4-0. One of those wins was an impressive Saturday sweep of 2023 2A state champion Portland Christian. Set scores were 25-15, 25-20.
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Mazama rallied from a set down to defeat Henley on Saturday in the championship match of the Basin Invite Volleyball Tournament hosted by Klamath Union.
The Vikings got strong performances all day from junior MB Cali Bitzer, who recorded 30 kills, 13 aces, 12 digs and seven blocks over 11 sets. Junior middle Sydney Baker and senior setter London O’Brien also shined in the win for Mazama.
“The Basin Invite is an early-season litmus test for local volleyball teams, offering an opportunity to gauge strengths and identify areas for improvement ahead of league play,” said coach John Downey. “Mazama’s resilience in the final sets secured their place as tournament champions, setting the stage for an exciting season ahead.”
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Blanchet Catholic won two league games this past week against tough foes Jefferson and Scio.
“A big key for us was remaining calm and confident when the game got tight and was on the line,” said coach Peter Piexoto. “A big part of this is that the core of the team is back from last year and they are handling these situations with great poise.”
Junior OH Lindsey Arritola, who stands 5-4, shined in the four-set Scio win with 34 digs.
Here’s outlookin’ at ya!
We had one coach complete a season outlook form last week and that was…yay!...McKay! The Royal Scots had a rough go of it last year in 5A, finishing 0-21, but hope to be more competitive in 2024 behind senior Myla Freskens and juniors Paige Simonsen and Maria Valete, the latter two of whom were HM All-MVC Conference in 2023. This is a quick team, said third-year coach Natalie Dunn.
Want to see your team here? Varsity head coaches may fill out our form at this link: https://osaa.wufoo.com/forms/z4cyr8e1od4g0i/
Single-match Stat stars
We have begun asking coaches on our bulk email list 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
None reported
25 or more kills in a match
28 -- Tatum Montiel, 5-11 Sr. OH, Marshfield (4A) -- Aug. 30 versus Cascade
26 – Hayley Schaaf, 6-3 Jr. MB, Catlin Gabel (3A) – Sept. 7 versus Amity
30 or more digs in a match
34 -- Lindsey Arritola, 5-4 Jr. OH, Blanchet Catholic (3A) – Sept. 5 versus Scio
8 or more blocks in a match
9 – Lydia Grassman, 5-10 Jr. OH, Franklin (6A) – Sept. 3 versus Liberty
10 or more aces in a match
11 -- Callie Turner, 5-4 Sr. S, Century (6A) – Sept. 3 versus Southridge
Coaches may email johnt@osaa.org 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
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
Katie Brewer, 6-1 Sr. MB, Centennial - Portland State
Jackie Carle, 5-7 Sr. S/DS, Jesuit – Washington State
Giana Elgarico, 5-11 Sr. OH Marist Catholic – University of Oregon
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
Email johnt@osaa.org to add commitments to the list. Please replicate the format you see above.
johnt@osaa.org
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