The South Albany volleyball celebrates its state championship victory. (Photo by Chris Burkhardt)

A year ago, South Albany was relatively unknown throughout the season despite dropping only two sets all year.

In 2025, they were the hunted after coming in as defending state champions.

Whether the RedHawks were the hunters or hunted it didn’t matter. They ended both with a state championship.

On Saturday Nov. 8 inside Forest Grove High School, the No. 1 seed RedHawks swept their way to a second consecutive state crown over No. 3 Bend (25-21, 25-17, 25-17).

“I think we got a taste of what a championship is like and we wanted that really bad,” South Albany senior Taylor Donaldson said. “We had some pretty young people stepping into really important roles. We went through a lot of adversity and I think that this win shows how hard we fought all year.”

Bend raced out to a 3-0 lead on two aces from freshman Lucy O’Connell, and expanded it from there by going up as much as six at 16-10.

South Albany got back into the swing of things with junior Audrey Webb picking up two kills and a senior Ryland Minnick block.

That got the RedHawks in the service of freshman Shaleigh Strome, and they proceeded to go on a 5-0 run that included three aces from Strome. South Albany went up 20-18 and was able to put it away on two kills from Donaldson and third block of the set from sophomore Addie Minnick.

Minnick continued to be a wall to start the second frame, picking up two kills and a block in the first three points.

“(Addie Minnick) is incredible, I think she’s a really key part of our defense,” South Albany head coach Kaela Wehrman said. “I think being able to provide that pressure on the net and making the other team’s standouts have to think and work around her and play smart.

Later in the second, it turned into the Donaldson show as she picked up three consecutive kills to put the RedHawks up 10-4. She ended with five kills alone in the second frame.

When it wasn’t Donaldson in the front row, Webb was the dangerous weapon. Bend had pulled to within one at 16-15, but Webb got a kill on three of the next four points to make it 18-15 RedHawks and provide some breathing room.

At 20-16, Webb picked up an ace, followed by a kill from Ryland Minnick, and another Webb kill to put the second set out of reach and eventually turned it into a 25-17 South Albany win.

“(Donaldson and Webb) are incredible, to be able to have two high-caliber power outside hitters is super rare, most teams have one and you try to get through the other three rotations,” Wehrman said. “That’s not the case for our team. Those two have been sharing that role and sharing that position for two or three years now.”

The two power hitters traded kills to open the third, followed by a kill from Addie Minnick to go up 3-1. Bend would tie it at four, but that’s the last time the Lava Bears had any kind of opening to a set victory.

The combo of Donaldson and Webb continued to inflict damage while Addie Minnick constantly had her hands on tips at the net to thwart the swing of Bend’s hitters in Brooklyn Fobi, Kiya Young and Kailyn Cooper.

Donaldson and Webb each had five more kills in the third while Addie Minnick added two. Webb had the honors of closing the match, picking three kills toward the end of the frame, including a loud slam for point No. 23 that sent the message that this thing was over.

Donaldson finished with 14 kills while Webb chipped in 12. Annie Minnick, who was named the player of the match and was dealing with the flu on Friday, had a hand in six blocks and put down six kills.

“(Annie Minnick) is incredible, everything she does is incredible,” Donaldson said. “We try to build her up in practice and in games. She’s a core player, she’s a key player, we need her and the other young ones who stepped in.”

Winning wouldn't be easy, especially after surviving in five sets the night before against an upset-minded Crater team.

But the RedHawks fought through only their second five-setter of the season, and that made anything Bend could throw at them seem lighter.

"I think it honestly helped us a lot, I think that we realized what we were capable of," Donaldson said. "We came back from a [six] point deficit and fought to five and I think it really showed us that mentality we're strong than we think. We're capable of doing things that people don't think we can do."

South Albany had a target on its back from the get-go as reigning champs, so much so that the Redhawks dropped their fifth match of the season to league foe Crescent Valley in five.

It looked a little rocky at first, but the leadership from the seniors to get the young players up to speed developed quickly and allowed for South Albany to have another dominant season where it only lost a total of six sets.

And that all began with two big tournament runs at Oregon City and their own home tournament where the RedHawks took out some of the state’s best to form what the 2025 team would be.

“This year we had a target on our back from the beginning and that’s something new that we hadn’t ever dealt with before,” Wehrman said. “It felt a little shaky (at first) … About halfway through September when we played back-to-back really successful tournaments and that’s when I really saw this new team own their identity, shed last year and own who they are and who they want to be.”

The state title is the second in the program’s history at South Albany, and it also marks the second-ever state title for the RedHawks athletic program overall.

“We talk about how we have the whole support of the school,” Donaldson said. “They want us to do good and we really feed off their energy.”

For Wehrman, she and her husband are both South Albany alumni and both work at the school as well, making this second state crown a representation for the whole community.

“We’re not just invested with this team, but with all the students, the entire community,” Wehrman said. “It’s just a place that’s always going to hold a special place in my heart. To even have a small role in something so big for the community is an indescribable feeling for me.”

5A PLACEMENT MATCHES

No. 5 Summit dominated on Saturday after dropping its quarterfinals match to No. 4 Crater on Friday. The Storm did just that in the morning with a sweep of No. 8 Wilsonville (25-18, 25-16, 25-22).

In the fourth/sixth place match, the Storm kept brewing against No. 3 West Albany, taking down the Bulldogs in straight sets (25-15, 25-23, 26-24). The Bulldogs swept No. 7 Corvallis (25-17, 25-12, 25-14) in the other consolation semifinal.

No. 2 Crescent Valley, who made the state title game the past three years before falling to No. 3 Bend in the semifinals Friday night, responded well Saturday afternoon.

The Raiders dropped the first set to No. 4 Crater, but took the second to level the match. The Comets took set three, but CV responded once more to take the fourth and send it to five.

In the fifth, it almost turned into a normal set as the two traded blows. Ultimately, the Raiders were able to get the two-point advantage at 21-19 and close out their bronze finish (22-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-18, 21-19).