Outlaws crowned champs at tourney

The Lady Outlaws volley ball team took top honors at the Cascade Invitational held on Saturday, September 10. They played extremely well in the morning pool play and went undefeated against upper classification teams, which included Cleveland (6A), Stayton (4A), and Astoria (4A), and entered bracket play as the No. 1 seed.

In the first round of bracket play Sisters faced Cascade in a rematch of last year’s state championship game. With the loss last year, the Outlaws came out with extra motivation, and pounded Cascade with a constant barrage of hitting attacks that the Cougars struggled to handle. Sisters took down the Cougars in two straight sets with scores of 25-16, 25-22.

The Outlaws then faced No. 6-ranked Santiam Christian. The Eagles came out of the gates with an energy and fire that the Outlaws struggled to match early on, which led to a 20-25 first set loss.

Coach Rory Rush said, “We just needed to settle in. After a long morning of pool play and an emotionally high game against Cascade, I needed to get our team resettled.”

Sisters looked like a different team in the second set. Libero Mia Monaghan led the Outlaws in a great defensive effort that Santiam Christian couldn’t handle. Sisters posted a dominant 25-10 win and went on to notch the third set 15-11.

The Outlaws matched up against 4A No. 1 Marshfield in the championship game. Marshfield boasted both size and speed, which proved to be a fantastic test for the Lady Outlaws. Sisters made the necessary adjustments and won the match with scores of 11-25, 25-13, 15-10.

Rush said, “They had a very quick-hitting offense that challenged our up front blocks. We had to adjust to their size and hitting angles. Once we did, we saw some incredible success that was fun to watch!

“After losing a hard fought first set, we caught fire in the second and third sets, and coasted to a dominant and undefeated Cascade Invite Championship,” added Rush.

Gracie Vohs led the Outlaws with 35 kills and 10 aces for the tournament, and Gracelyn Myhre followed with 23 kills and 10 aces. Bailey Robertson finished with 18 kills. Mia Monaghan recorded 30 digs, and Hannah Fendall dished out 40 assists.

The Outlaws’ wins at the Cascade Invite moved them into the No. 1-ranked spot in the OSAA for 3A classification.

Four days earlier the Lady Outlaws made their 3A Mountain Valley Conference debut against Elmira. Sisters wanted to come out and make a strong statement against their new league opponent, and they did just that.

Sisters’ quick attacks, stifling blocks, and strategic serves caused the Falcons to scramble every set. The entire match only lasted 45 minutes, with the Outlaws squelching the Falcons with scores of 25-8, 25-3, and 25-10.

Rush said, “We wanted to start our league schedule out strong. We jumped out to early leads in every set, which allowed us to work on some strategy as well as work on our depth by playing every player. They (Elmira) couldn’t pass, and the points they scored were our errors.”

Sisters was scheduled to play at Harrisburg on Tuesday, September 13.

They will play at home on Wednesday, September 14 against Pleasant Hill, and will host their annual Sisters Invitational on Saturday, September 17.