For the first time in program last fall, Clatskanie girls volleyball found itself playing for a state title when the No. 6 seed Tigers pulled off a quarterfinals upset and beat a league foe in the semifinals.
However, the run ended there as top-seeded Crosshill Christian won in straight sets, sending the Tigers home with silver.
This fall, that Clatskanie team looks pretty much the same with only three seniors lost to graduation.
And with that comes plenty of high hopes of not only getting back to La Grande, but leaving with a bluer trophy in 2026.
“We’re off to a pretty solid start, we have been battling some injuries early,” Clatskanie head coach Amanda Baker said. “I have most of my team returning from last year. Got a solid group of starters, my five seniors who have been with me since their freshmen year. They’re dialed in, they know the culture, they know the program and they’re great leaders, mentors for my new and upcoming players as well.”
Clatskanie began the year taking down 3A Warrenton in five sets before dropping a match in five sets to 3A contender Westside Christian. After that it was sweeps of former league rival Portland Christian and Santiam in nonleague, then Vernonia and Faith Bible/Life Christian to begin league play.
Last week, the Tigers competed in the St. Paul Invitational and fell to Myrtle Point in the bracket portion of the tournament 2-1.
Myrtle Point was that team Clatskanie upset in the quarterfinals last year, so there’s plenty of work left to do for the Tigers. But the experience of making a deep run last year has provided a new-found hunger.
“Every year they’ve made strides and finished a little higher,” Baker said. “Last year we got to that big championship match and you could see it was different. Now, this year, we’re so prepared, we have so much experience. We’re all hungry for it.”
One of the players battling the injury bug early though is senior middle blocker Lacey Willis who normally plays all six rotations.
Then there is senior libero McKinsey Doyle, who’s been in that position since she was a freshman at Clatskanie.
Olivia George is handling the swings at the net as she’s bounced between being an outside or pin hitter over the years.
“She’s who we’re looking for right now with Lacey out,” Baker said. “She’s super strong there on the outside.”
The Tigers still have another senior up the middle in Peyton Krueger, who returns after missing the second half of last season with an injury. Before going out, she led the Tigers in blocks and was their top server.
And rounding out the seniors is Addy Compton at setter, stirring the whole drink for Clatskanie.
“She runs a quick offense for us, she’s real smart and has learned a lot over the last four years,” Baker said of Compton.
Junior Izzy Mustola is a defensive specialist and serving specialist as well for Clatskanie, who’s also flanked by a couple freshmen in Cheyenne Warnock and Sophia Lowe. Warnock is a middle who’s stepped in for Willis and Lowe is a setter learning the ropes from Compton.
Junior Mai Lowe is another outside hitter for the Tigers and Jadynce Black is an oppo hitter who has plenty of experience as well after filling in for Krueger last year.
“Besides the freshmen, everyone has made the trip to state before and they know what to expect,” Baker said.
Clatskanie has two big Northwest League matches this week, taking on Gaston (7-2, 2-0 NW) and Knappa (4-4, 1-1 NW) before heading to a nonleague tournament at Mark Morris (WA).
The biggest goal for the Tigers is obvious in getting to La Grande and winning the program’s first state title. But in order to get there, Baker hopes to see some stronger front lines at the net and improved talk among the group.
“We’ve been working a lot on our blocking,” Baker said. “But communication has been our No. 1 goal all season so far. We make it our goal every practice, every game. It’s so important, having that communication in place and trusting each other.”
Sprague battle-tested and ready again
One of the best volleyball matchups in Oregon the past few years has been Sprague and Jesuit, as seen by a five-set thriller the two played for the 2025 6A state title.
This fall, the two have already met twice with the Olympians winning the first match 2-1 at a tournament hosted by Central Catholic. The Crusaders got revenge in Salem four days later though, winning in Sprague’s home gym 3-2.
With a roster loaded once again, the Olympians don’t need a reminder of how to get back to that title game or who they might see once again. But the early matchups show exactly what Sprague needs to work on over the next couple months to get the program’s first blue trophy.
“As far as the one at home, I kind of told them at the end of the game, ‘Yeah, it’s a disappointment to lose, but this probably actually was good for us,’” Sprague head coach Anne Olsen said. “It was good for us to experience a loss like this early in the season so we can learn from what we did and make our rotations, our hitting, everything stronger based on this one game alone. It taught us a lot.”
In the first matchup at Central Catholic against Jesuit, the Olympians actually dropped the first set before taking the next two to win.
At home, Sprague won the first set, but fell apart in the second set to let the Crusaders right back in.
“It’s getting the girls to understand that you can’t just come out to play one set, this is a full match,” Olsen said. “And teams are going to show up to play us. They can show up differently elsewhere. No matter how much scouting we do, every team is going to show their best when they come to play us. We’ve earned that respect and now we have to be able to come back at them with the same level of respect.”
The Olympians have some players back who know all about that, starting with senior captains Brooke Friesen and Khloe Livingston.
Friesen, a setter, and Livingston, an outside hitter, have both played on varsity since their freshmen year and were captains last year as juniors.
Now with one final run in high school ahead of them, Olsen has been impressed with the duo’s continued growth as leaders and teachers.
“The girls really look to them for help to understand the game and their volleyball IQ has gone up dramatically over the past four years,” Olsen said. “It helps the other girls to figure out how to, strategically, go after the ball instead of just going up and swinging away.
“They have really stepped into that leader role last year and even more so this year.”
The third captain for the Olympians is junior Eliza Lohrman, a libero who played on varsity as a freshman and then took over the libero role last year as a sophomore.
Lohrman is in the same boat of looking to the younger players and helping teach them game while also growing in her own regards.
One of those younger players coming up is freshman Mina Hoda, who is already a force at the net with her 5-foot-10 frame.
“(Hoda) has height on her side and coming in she is a very athletically-minded athlete,” Olsen said. “She knows the game, it’s learning to know the game at the varsity level. She has so much room for growth. … She’s starting to pick up, ‘I’m a big person on this team and I can do a lot for the team.’ She’s very coachable.”
Sophomore Liana Paul is a “jack of all trades” kind of player by setting up in the back row for Hoda sometimes or playing her natural position at setter behind Friesen.
Olsen said she was a similar player to Paul growing up having learned pieces of each position, and she sees a similar path forward for the sophomore.
“I was a setter and once I got to college all I did was play DS and outside,” Olsen said. “It’s fun to see someone else be able to take that on. She’s kind of the jack of all trades and we can throw her in where we need her to be. As a coach, having a utility player like that is huge because you can fill in the spots that we need to have some extra help in.”
Junior Valen Longacre toes the line between outside and middle, but Olsen said Longacre can really make swings from any spot on the floor.
And really the whole team has learned to be adaptable at all kinds of positions on the court, which is what Olsen believes sets her team apart.
“That’s what’s great about this team, we have so many players that can play different positions,” Olsen said. “If we want a block in a certain place, then they just move to that side. Sometimes (Friesen) is blocking out of the middle and then goes to set after that. Teams never know what we’re coming with I think because we can change it up at any given moment.”
Sprague is off to a 4-0 start in league and 11-1 overall, setting up another great rivalry matchup with South Salem at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22 in the Saxons’ home gym.
The first goal of course is always to win the league, but there’s no doubt where Sprague wants to be in November. And that starts with taking care of the daily goals each and every day.
“We have our long-term goals, but we have to think short term right now because if we don’t get past this next team, it could affect things down the line,” Olsen said. “You have two months (with your high school team). You have to ask yourself, ‘What are you doing on the court and off the court outside of practice?’ … If truly their goal is to win a state championship, it has to start with each and every day coming into practice with a purpose in mind.”
Valley Catholic right at home in 4A
After winning three of the last four 3A state titles, the Valley Catholic girls volleyball knew that they could compete with schools above their classification.
And so far, the Valiants haven’t skipped a beat with an 11-1 overall record, the one loss coming to 5A contender Crescent Valley in five sets.
With a roster featuring almost everyone back from the 2025 title team, Valley Catholic has no reason not to believe it can win another blue trophy at the 4A level.
“Honestly, if you were to take the top of 5A, 4A and 3A and even honestly 6A sometimes, you’re really looking at a very equal level,” Valiants head coach Becky Kemper said. “For us, I don’t think it’s much different than 3A. … I think they’re excited about the different gyms they’re going to see and the different crowds.
“Our first league championship was in 4A and then we moved to 3A and won state there. Put us in whatever league you want, we’ll take care of business.”
Valley Catholic already took care of business against the reigning 4A state champs in Marist Catholic with a five-set win on Sept. 3. The Valiants also beat 5A Silverton, Cascade Christian, Estacada and 3A contender Sisters twice.
The secret sauce for Kemper is her belief that high school volleyball needs to stay fun. Club teams or other programs can dip into being a little too serious, but Kemper wants to see her team smiling, loose and having a blast.
“One of my favorite things is hearing them come back and say, ‘I’m so excited to get back to my high school team,’” Kemper said. “These guys love playing together. They are excited to be together and they just have a great relationship. We know how to have fun in the gym.”
Some of the girls back for more fun in 2026 include seniors Maeve Albert and Jaya McGregor. Albert is a middle blocker and McGregor the setter.
The two have made an incredible duo in the offensive game for the Valiants and they are ready to close their high school career with another title.
“(Albert) is just pounding balls in the front and (McGregor) just knows how to deliver the ball,” Kemper said. “(McGregor) has been in my gym since she was eight or nine-years-old coming to my camp. She’s my heart.”
Junior Hadley Entizne and sophomore Emma Sarantakos made waves last year as underclassmen and are ready to continue their upward trend.
Entizne is a beach volleyball player and is normally more of a libero, but Kemper puts her on the outside where she excels as well, as seen by having 28 kills against Marist Catholic.
“I tell (Entizne) everything she touches is gold, she just does not make many mistakes,” Kemper said. “She’s really a libero that I have on the outside and she’s just dominating. … (The game against Marist Catholic), this is against a big block and there’s 5-foot-6 (Entizne).”
Kemper said she has her teams write down goals on a whiteboard at the start of each season, and last year the team wrote something to the effect of wanting to feel good about their state tournament appearance.
After winning some regular season tournaments, Kemper encouraged them to change it to winning state, which they did, but the coach could still feel some hesitancy.
Once there, the Valiants saw that they could do more than compete, and they proved it by bringing home the state title once more.
So in 2026, it’s all about belief for the Valiants, who continue Cowapa League play this week against Astoria after starting league with a 3-0 win over Seaside on Sept. 17.
“It was funny because (McGregor) is back this year and she’s like, ‘I feel nervous because I believe we can win state, but I’m worried that I’ll be disappointed if we don’t,’” Kemper said. “I’m like, ‘Jaya, you’ll be disappointed if we don’t no matter what. It’s OK to believe we can win state again.’
“So that’s our goal, we want to make it to that match again.”
austinw@osaa.org
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