The South Eugene girls volleyball team poses after winning its home tournament in 2025. (Courtesy photo: Ron Beick)

Following 2020, the South Eugene girls volleyball team wasn’t quite its normal, strong self.

The Axe missed the playoffs entirely in 2021 and 2023 and were bounced in the first round in 2022. 

Current head coach Ron Beick took over in 2024 and the Axe not only got back into the postseason, but won a road game against Sandy to advance to the second round. Eventual state champion Jesuit eliminated them there.

Now in 2025, South Eugene has continued its ascent with a 20-2 overall record and a 10-1 mark in Southwest Conference play. The Axe take on first-place Sheldon at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23 where they could force a share of the SWC title with a win on the road.

“When I was asked to coach, it was evident they were great kids who were into the game, wanted to get better and were open to the coaching,” Beick said. “They responded really well, I thought we had a really good year last year for the first year I coached.

“We only lost a couple key players, and as we hoped, this group has a lot of talent across the board, but more importantly they're a really strong unit as a team.”

Last year, the Axe went 2-4 to start SWC play, but did respond with a 5-1 mark in the second half of league play to finish 7-5 and 15-9 overall, placing fourth and earning the No. 17 seed in the postseason.

This year, the Axe have produced some notable wins throughout the season, including a 2-0 win over 5A powerhouse Bend, a 2-0 win over another strong 5A team in West Albany and two wins over league foe South Medford who’s ranked in the top 10 of the OSAA rankings.

Overall, South Eugene has won 53 sets on the year compared to losing just 10. Simply put, the Axe have taken care of business and haven’t allowed any kind of hiccups to throw off their season.

“We won the Lakeridge tournament last year, and that really was the turning point midseason,” Beick said. “A huge stepping stone in terms of positive growth (by making the playoffs), kids understanding what’s expected. So when you start this year, it’s a lot more straightforward. Kids already know what practices are gonna be like, what they have to achieve.”

Helping reach those achievements are the outside hitting duo of senior Caroline Combs and sophomore Sawyer Hanley.

Combs is one of two captains and has only improved her swing after four years on varsity while Hanley was a surprise showing to Beick last year, but has quickly become an integral part of the team.

“(Combs) has really grown both as an attacker in terms of her strength and power, but also as a leader in terms of setting a tone and lifting the team up,” Beick said. “(Henley is) a very good ball-control player, but also a very strong hitter. She made varsity and started as a freshman.”

Providing the bump for the Axe is the other captain in junior libero Kylie Smith, and setting is junior Lucy Alkire.

Beick moved the team to a 5-1 system last year to give Alkire more opportunity to set, which the junior has taken off in, meanwhile Smith provides a competitive spark from the back row.

“(Alkire) has good hands and has a good understanding of what we’re trying to do, she made second team all-league last year and I think she should be first-team this year," Beick said. “She’s done a great job in terms of distributing the ball and understanding our strengths and weaknesses in the front line and how to use that appropriately.

“(Smith) is extremely tough in terms of a competitor and has improved lights out from this year to last year in terms of being able to defend the court.”

Those four have helped raise the level and expectations of the South Eugene program that was a playoff regular before 2020.

Regardless of the result against Sheldon, the Axe will not only be back in the playoffs but have a shot at grabbing a top-8 seed and possibly hosting for the first and second round.

South Eugene’s last appearance in the quarterfinals/state tournament came back in 2016 when it took home fifth place.

“We’ve obviously earned the right to the playoffs, we should have a home game for the first round, and now we’re fighting to see if we can get it for the second round as well,” Beick said. “The girls, that was their goal from the beginning: Have a shot at a league title and have a shot at a trophy at state and both of those are still within reach. That’s always exciting when you get to this week.”

Marist Catholic looks to get back on top

Elsewhere in Eugene, Marist Catholic hopes to get back into the state title game once again after making it the past two years – winning in 2023 and falling to Marshfield in 2024.

The Spartans are currently 20-1 overall and 7-0 in the 4A Sky Em League with one game left against North Bend on the road at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23.

“Last year our saying was, ‘Play for the girl next to you,’ and this year we’ve focused a lot on just being a family and how to treat each other,” Spartans head coach Shari Pimental said. “We felt like we had a pretty talented group coming back, and they have proved to be that, but play well together and respond well to challenges.”

Leading the charge has been junior setter/hitter Lauren Rohman, who Pimental described as the most efficient hitter on the team.

Rohman’s swings help open up the floor for fellow juniors Adriana Lyons Rivera and Kimberly Spurlock hitting on the outside as well.

In the back row, senior libero Kegan De Lee, who was a second-team All-Tournament selection last year at state, leads the defensive effort to create a strong core of returners.

“Those three kids are leading the way with hitting, and then Kegan De Lee, our libero, is phenomenal," Pimentel said. “She just has that mentality of, ‘I’m going to pass, dig and get my hands on every ball.’ I think that definitely helps us with those four kids returning and being consistent.”

Junior Anna Edwards is another setter playing a crucial role so the Spartans can run their 6-2 and allow Rohman some swings at the net. 

Those five aren’t new to being at the top of the 4A food chain with Marist Catholic currently ranked No. 1 in the OSAA rankings. It’s a spot the Spartans have been at or close to for their entire high school careers.

Having that experience of being at the top and traveling to the state tournament has the team prepared for whatever might be coming next.

“Some of them have been there three times now, so I think that plays a part where they can bring the others alongside them and talk about what that feels like, even though it’s a new team,” Pimental said. 

Marist Catholic has put together some strong wins as well, which includes two wins over reigning champion Marshfield, the second of which was a three-set sweep on the Pirates’ home floor. 

For now, the Spartans aren’t focused on the wins and losses, but rather growing as a team as they prepare for another run at a blue trophy.

“I think (the win over Marshfield) gave us some confidence, it clinched the Sky Em league title for us,” Pimental said. “We try not to be outcome oriented, like we want to win the Sky Em league title, that wasn’t something we named or said. It’s more about the girls coming together and figuring out who they want to be as a team.”

Crescent Valley back in the picture with new coach

Despite Crescent Valley’s recent run of success – making the 5A state title match three consecutive years with two state titles – the Raiders were missing some stability.

Former head coach Troy Shorey helped CV win the titles in 2022 and 2023 before stepping down. The Raiders were led by McKenna Smith last year before she left the program following the season.

So when current head coach Paul Ossowski stepped in for 2025, the goal was still to win, but to also provide some stability for the program.

At 19-2 overall and 12-0 in a difficult 5A Mid-Willamette Conference, those goals appear to be in reach.

“My take coming into the program was there wasn’t a lot of stability,” Ossowski said. “My biggest thing was, ‘How can I come in and just be a positive influence on these girls and bring some stability?’ … I don’t think there was any pressure for me coming like that I have to win. I think my biggest focus was be a positive attitude for these girls.”

Ossowski is new to coaching high school volleyball after sticking to the club scene over the years, but he knows plenty of players on CV from the club teams.

And so far on the court things haven’t changed much with the Raiders getting set to enter the postseason as one of the favorites in 5A. 

Back in September, they got a big win over reigning champion and league foe South Albany in five sets. They’ve also beaten other strong opponents like Summit, Central Catholic, West Linn, West Albany, along with getting through grueling tournament schedules with more wins than losses.

“I think the biggest thing I’ve seen is we’ve just grown throughout the whole season,” Ossowski said. “They’ve really worked hard at practices, which is one of my big things as a coach. You go to the game, you’re gonna play the game but really all the work you put in is at practice. They’ve really focused up at practice.”

Helping lead those practices are four influential returners in seniors Emma Yenchik and Ashlin Lockman, as well as juniors Georgia Vawter and Karsyn Horn.

Lockman and Vawter are the two outside hitters while Yenchik patrols the middle and Horn is in the back row leading as the libero.

Having been in the program for 3-4 years now, that core group knows what it takes to win and wants to continue the tradition that’s been built over the last few years.

“There’s almost this sort of, ‘Hey we win, that’s what we do here,’ and that’s kind of been built the last four years, which builds some confidence,” Ossowski said. “Those four girls have been huge in their leadership and what they know in the program.”

The fun doesn’t end there either as the Raiders also have junior middle blocker Niana King back, an All-Tournament second-team selection a year ago.

New to the program though is freshman setter Lela Campos, who has come in and taken over the offense for a talented crew.

“A lot of times when we’re looking for a kill and (King) is in the middle, we’re gonna set her, she can put it down,” Ossowski said. “You want somebody (at setter) who doesn’t get bothered by the really good things or the really bad things, and (Campos) just loves to play volleyball.”

Crescent Valley closes the season with a road game at Central at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23 before a final league against an opponent to be determined next week on Tuesday, Oct. 28.

From there, the No. 2 ranked-Raiders hope their preparation in practice has led to 2025 ending a little bit differently in the postseason than in 2024.

“I feel like we’re as prepared as we have been all season,” Ossowski said. “What might be stressful to some, our girls have been through the fire, so I think that’s also really prepared them for some of our tough matches this year. But we’re prepared and ready to roll.”