No girls volleyball team has opened 2025 quite as well as Sprague has.
With plenty of talent back, the Olympians are 12-0 to begin the year after taking down West Salem in straight sets Sept. 18. Overall, Sprague has only dropped one set and won the other 28.
All of that winning has vaulted the Olympians to No. 1 in the OSAA rankings for 6A, a marker that head coach Anne Olsen knows comes with a target.
“It’s definitely been an enjoyable ride, it’s been a great start to the year and it’s nice to see it coming together early on because then it tells me there’s so much more we can do with this season,” Olsen said. “It’s always kind of nerve wracking being No. 1. … Even more so, being undefeated and sitting at the top of the state, it’s that much more of, ‘OK, you need to be disciplined and show up and do what it takes to keep it going.’”
Sprague cruised through a season-opening tournament held at Sheldon where it took out powerhouse programs in Summit, reigning 4A champion Marshfield, Bend and Sheldon.
From there, it was the Central Catholic tournament where the Olympians picked up four more wins over Nelson, Westview, La Salle Prep and Grant.
Then it was the big one, a home match with league rival South Salem.
With a packed out crowd, pizza for the students standing in support and the familiarity between the crosstown foes, the Olympians came out with a 3-1 victory, 25-20, 25-22, 18-25, 25-15.
“I love that game, it’s a game where I don’t do anything during the day because I’m just prepping the entire day just to be ready,” Olsen said. “It was really exciting, and it was fun to see our girls come out. I knew every time we beat them in a set, I was like, ‘You guys, they aren’t going to just roll over and give it to us.’”
Olsen’s prediction was right as the Saxons took the third set looking for the reverse sweep.
Instead, the Olympians made the quick adjustments they needed to and closed out the match in the fourth to get the first leg up in 2025 and the first step toward winning a fourth consecutive Central Valley Conference title.
“We switched some things in the lineup setup and we went out and dominated in that fourth set,” Olsen said. “It was nice to see the girls have that one set they lost and then flip it around so quickly and so dramatically in that fourth set.”
Helping power another strong Sprague team is Salem Academy transfer Emma Brewer. The 6-foot-2 senior and outside hitter is committed to the University of San Diego next season.
While coming into a new school program for senior year could be tricky, Brewer has fit right in after playing with some of the girls already in club season and growing up around the Salem area.
“It was a pretty seamless transition for her to come in,” Olsen said. “They’ve all embraced her and kind of taken her in. It’s been fun to see a transfer come in and be able to seamlessly be friends automatically with a majority of the girls on the team.”
Brewer helped Salem Academy relatively cruise to the 2A state title last year, and now her talents are on display for the biggest schools in the state to try and stop.
However, the classification doesn’t change much for Brewer. She’s a force no matter how large the opposing school’s enrollment may be.
“(Brewer) is athletically gifted and she has a really high volleyball IQ, she just sees things on the court that not any usual high school outside hitter would see,” Olsen said. “(She) is able to go up mid-hit and then decide where to hit it. … She is constantly wanting to push herself.”
Setting things up for Brewer is junior setter Brooke Friesen, a 6-footer who gets plenty of swings as well with some time spent as an opposite hitter.
Friesen, who was voted as a captain this season, has been playing since her freshman year and has proven her feel for the court is unmatched.
“(Friesen is) another one that just has so much volleyball smarts,” Olsen said. “She can set a perfect set from the right back corner all the way to the outside. She’s strong and she’s another one who is very coachable.”
Rounding out the attack is another junior captain in Khloe Livingston, who has also been on varsity for the Olympians since her freshman year.
Olsen praised the growth the 5-foot-8 Livingston has made since her freshman year, and said the junior has been the vocal leader for the squad trying to make those needed adjustments on the fly.
In the back row, sophomore Eliza Lohrman has taken on the libero roll this season and has fit in well despite taking the lead at a younger age.
“(Livingston) is definitely one that embodies that ability to adjust on the fly,” Olsen said. “(Lohrman) gets balls up that you don’t think are going to be able to get up. It’s pretty incredible to watch her step out there and take on that jersey and take it and run with it.”
The Olympians are set to head to Phoenix later this month to play in the Nike Tournament of Champions Sept. 26-27.
Olsen said she’s taken two previous teams there in 2013 and 2018, the latter of which came back and made the 6A state title match for the first and only time in program history.
The head coach hopes this team can learn some of the same lessons that those previous squads took with them after watching and playing against the best of the best.
“It took going to that tournament for them to really see, ‘OK, we are good,’” Olsen said of the 2018 team. “I’m super excited to go again so that the girls can be on that level and play teams that are just that good.”
Before they head south, the Olympians have to deal with South Salem for a second time at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 24. And this time it’s in the Saxons’ house.
But with talent all over the court and a drive to make program history, the Olympians feel they are ready for any challenger that may line up across from them in 2025.
“We are shooting for winning conference again this season. We have state championship on our minds,” Olsen said. “But we also know we can’t get there without doing each step before that. We know it can change on a dime. …You can be No. 1 or No. 2, but if you’re not continuing to improve yourself and continuing to be disciplined and competitive, you never know what happens in the state tournament.”
Chemawa picks up two early wins
After two years away from varsity action, Chemawa volleyball is off to a 2-1 start after defeating C.S. Lewis Academy and Falls City/Kings Valley Charter this past week.
The last varsity victory for the Braves came back on Oct. 11, 2022, in 2A before going to JV only for 2023 and 2024. Chemawa has only won a total of five varsity matches since 2013.
“They were definitely excited to win,” Chemawa head coach Tyler Robison said. “For the players that were here last year it was a long season, so to experience some success this year has been great. … I think we're in the right league right now and the matchups have been really fun for us. We expect to pick up several more wins this season and to be competitive in every match.”
Part of the challenge with Chemawa fall sports is the fact it’s a boarding school, meaning there’s no summer workouts to get acclimated with teammates.
When students arrive in the fall, the Braves get to work as soon as possible to build out a team and start working on the needed chemistry.
“To experience an amount of early success at this level is great for the community,” Robison said. “It's definitely boosting the school spirit. It's great to see the students feel pride in themselves and in their school because it's an awesome school and the whole student body is great, not just the athletes and they deserve to be recognized for their perseverance.”
Fighting through the tough times have been a strong group of seniors that include Shaynice Moss, Haley Scott and Janice Craig, who Robison described as great teammates.
As for the 2025 squad, the sophomore class has taken on leadership for the Braves, a group that includes Aubrey Reede, Dazae Jose, Eniyah Anderson and Tyshaya Foster.
“They have a great positive energy and are a joy to be around,” Robison said of the sophomore class. “For us right now the key has been flushing the bad plays and focusing on making the next play. Our strategy and execution are improving slowly but the team energy has been our biggest asset so far and the younger players bring that energy to the team.”
The Braves are currently 2-1 overall and in the 1A Casco League, which puts them fourth in the league standings with the top three earning an automatic bid to the postseason.
However, while the early wins are nice, that’s not the main focus for Chemawa as it continues to try and build up the volleyball program and all its sports offerings.
“This is a shared philosophy of all of the coaches here at Chemawa, but our goal is to have our team commit to something bigger than themselves and to embrace the lessons that being a part of a team can give you; things like commitment, discipline, and hard-work,” Robison said. “My goal for the girls is that they would remember how much fun they had working hard together and that they would leave the season more prepared for wherever life takes them next.”
Sisterhood defined at Prospect Charter
Sisters playing together is nothing new when it comes to volleyball, even if it’s more than two at a time.
However, Prospect Charter volleyball put a new spin on the family bond hitting the court at the same time in a 3-0 match win over Chiloquin on Sept. 18.
The Cougars starting six included three sets of sisters, two of which are head coach Amanda Hansen’s daughters in senior Abigail Hansen and sophomore Norah Hansen.
The two other pairs of sisters include senior Bailey Lehman and freshman Thea Lehman, and sophomore Mikaela Goble and freshman Kolbee Goble.
The sister-six played the first set as a unit and won it 25-14 behind four kills from Bailey Lehman. Kolbee Goble added two kills and two aces.
It’s the first recorded time in state history that three sets of sisters all started a girls volleyball match, and the Cougars made sure to end the night with a win by taking the second and third sets 25-16 and 25-20.
The school gave each of the girls a certificate to commemorate the moment as the Cougars moved to 3-3 on the season and 1-2 in the 1A Mountain Valley League.
The sisters and the rest of the squad are back in action next week when Prospect Charter hosts Gilchrist at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23 and North Lake the same day at 4:30 p.m.
austinw@osaa.org
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