Riverhawk girls open volleyball season with win

“We’re definitely excited to be back in Kurtz Gym after playing all our games at Wahtonka last year,” said Summers. “We had lots of support tonight and we want everyone to come out and support these girls, because they’re working hard in doing all the things they need to do as a team. All three of our teams (freshman, JV, varsity) had a sweep against Pendleton today. I couldn’t be more proud of the girls in our first game.

“We’re not going to get too comfortable though, because we’re going to keep pushing the pace and we’re going to keep coming after everybody.”

In the first set, which included five ties and four lead changes, the Riverhawks gained the upper hand following a 13-13 deadlock. From that point on, the Riverhawks had everything going their way with Kennedy Abbas, Zoe LeBreton, Ahnikah Rubio, Kaylee Fleming and Lydia DeGennaro helping lead the way.

“It feels really great, and it feels like we started out playing with momentum from the start of the match very well,” said Abbas, an Intermountain Conference all-league second team outside hitter last year. “We’ve struggled against Pendleton for the last couple of years, so it feels really good to beat them now in the first game of the season. We all played together very well, and we trust each other a lot and we had lots of fun. We have a very good and talented team and I’m very excited about the season.”

The Riverhawks displayed strong and accurate serving to take control. Rubio served an ace to put The Dalles up 16-13 and an ace served by DiGennaro made it 17-14. A Flemming ace extended the Riverhawks’ lead to 22-14. Abbas served the final three points with LeBreton pounded a game-winning kill for a 25-15 win.

“The Pit is something else and it’s very intimidating for opposing teams coming here with everybody above you looking down on you, so it definitely feels like you’re in a pit,” said LeBreton, who was an IMC all-league honorable mention selection a year ago. “It feels absolutely amazing to be playing in here again and I loved it and everyone was so excited about it.”

LeBreton served five consecutive service points to help the Riverhawks build a 13-8 second-set lead. A 6-1 Riverhawk run, highlighted by a kill by Zoe Dunn, helped extend the margin to 19-9.

“We have high goals this year and we’ve set the bar high because we know how good of a team that we can be when we play like we did tonight,” said LeBreton. “Our goal is to make the state playoffs, which is the goal every year. I just feel like we can do it this year because we have all the tools and we’re ready for it. We played with a lot of energy and heart.”

The Dalles jumped out to a 6-2 third-set lead and had the momentum going in their favor from start to finish. A LeBreton kill gave The Dalles match point at 24-14 and Dunn pounded a game-winning kill at the end for a 25-14 victory.

“We want to come out hard and go after every opponent full speed ahead,” said Summers. “Hopefully the girls will remember this and stay confident and keep working hard. We just can’t stop here. We have to keep pushing and keep getting better by working hard in practice and keep playing for each other.”

The Riverhawks played their first road game of the season in a tournament Aug. 27 at Hillsboro High School. The Riverhawks lost their first game 3-0 to the La Salle High Prep Falcons (2-0). The Dalles came back to win its next contest 3-0 over Hillsboro (0-2).

The Riverhawks play their next contest at home Thursday at 6:30 p.m. against Gorge rival Hood River Valley. The two teams split a pair of matchups when they were members of the Class 5A IMC last year. As a result of the OSAA’s reclassification every four years, The Dalles moved down to Class 4A this season and is in the Tri-Valley Conference. Hood River is now a member of the 5A Northwest Oregon Conference.