Lady Outlaws crowned champs at home tourney

The Lady Outlaws earned championship honors at the annual Sisters Invitational Tournament held on Saturday, September 18. Sisters hosted the 16-team tournament, which included eight of the top-10 ranked teams in the state at the 4A level.

Sisters didn’t drop a set the entire tournament. They finished pool play 6-0 with wins over Madras, Siuslaw, and Cottage Grove, and were ranked first for the afternoon bracket.

All five of the Oregon West teams made it to the Gold Bracket, including Sisters, Cascade, Philomath, Stayton, and Sweet Home, as well as Valley Catholic (VC), Burns, and Cottage Grove.

Sisters played Cottage Grove in the first round and won easily in two sets with scores of 25-11, 25-15.

In the semifinal game, the Outlaws faced Burns, who boasted very good hitters and players who served tough.

The Outlaws jumped out to a large lead, but some unforced errors allowed Burns to creep back in. Sydney Myhre had a nice kill that gave the Outlaws the ball. Myhre then stepped back to the service line and ended the set with an ace for a 25-22 finish.

In the second set, the Outlaws had the momentum. They started the set with a big kill from Gracie Vohs, followed by a block from Gracelyn Myhre. Tough serves and big hits on the net took Burns out of system. The Highlanders finished the game with six errors, and the Outlaws logged the 25-18 win.

Sisters advanced to the championship game and went up against Valley Catholic, who came out and took an early 2-0 lead. Two big kills by Sydney Myhre gave the Outlaws the momentum they needed. Sisters rallied behind tough serves with five aces to overtake the Valiants 25-19.

The Outlaws came out in the second set on fire. Bree White started the rally with a big kill to the corner, followed by two big blocks by Gracie Vohs and two ace serves from Maddie Pollard, which put the Outlaws on top 7-1. The quick run forced VC to call a time out, but the Outlaws had the momentum, never looked back, and took the set 25-14 for the championship win.

Vohs led the Outlaws with 34 kills, 10 blocks, and seven aces, followed by Sydney Myhre who had 27 kills, four blocks, and 10 aces. Gracelyn Myhre logged 25 kills, one block, and six aces, Bailey Robertson posted 24 kills and 11 blocks, and Bree White recorded 22 kills and one block.

Hannah Fendall dished out 74 assists, and also had three kills and three aces. Mia Monaghan recorded 34 digs and three aces, and Pollard added 20 digs and 13 aces.

Coach Rory Rush said, “Today was a great day playing against some great teams. We played together as a team, distributed the ball well, and had fun doing it. The girls came to play today and made a statement, ‘This team can play and they are hungry to win!’ Every game they gain more confidence in each other and build their chemistry on the court. We needed this momentum builder going into a tough week where we will face two good teams in Philomath at home and Cascade at their place.”