From left to right, sophomore Morgan Donivan (13), junior Caitlynn Gatton (11), head coach Teresa Morris, junior Adisyn Gunter (14) and senior Chrissy Geary (1).
From left to right, sophomore Morgan Donivan (13), junior Caitlynn Gatton (11), head coach Teresa Morris, junior Adisyn Gunter (14) and senior Chrissy Geary (1).
THE GORGE — The Dalles High has enjoyed tremendous volleyball success recently and there appears to be no letup in sight for the Riverhawk program as it prepares to make another Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) Class 4A state playoff run.
Twenty miles west, the 5A Hood River Valley Eagles must contend again with the rugged, Portland-area based Northwest Oregon Conference (NWOC), this season under the leadership of first-year Coach Emily Curtis.
“I’m super excited about this team,” Curtis, a 2019 HRV graduate, said. “They have a lot of potential, and I think we’ll win a lot more games this year.”
Winning has been synonymous with The Dalles program under third-year Coach Teresa Morris. Last year, the Riverhawks (19-7 overall) tied the Tri-Valley Conference champion Crook County High Cowgirls (25-7 overall) for first place in the six-team league standings with identical 9-1 records. The Riverhawks advanced to the eight-team, state tournament quarterfinals for a third straight season and placed fourth. (Crook County is playing in Class 5A this season.)
“I definitely think we’ll get back to the state playoffs again this year,” said Morris, the TVC co-coach-of-the-year last season. Ten varsity players return from a season ago. “We’ll have a good chance of making a pretty good playoff run and hopefully reach the state tournament quarterfinals this year.
“We have some younger players who have stepped up at practice and we have key returning players who have improved, as well,” said Morris. “I think our girls will be able to step into the shoes of our four departed seniors and fill those roles very well. We have a pretty strong defensive team, too, and we hope that we’ll be very strong in serving and serve receiving.”
The Riverhawks will be led by sophomore Jazzy Morris-Holmes, the 2024 TVC player-of-the-year and a Class 4A all-state first team selection. Other key players are seniors Aizlynn Rubio, Caitlynn Gatton and Cleo Corbin. The three each earned TVC all-league honorable mention awards in 2024.
The Riverhawks play in a jamboree on August 28 at Corbett High School before playing their first six nonleague matches on the road. Their home opener is September 23 versus Madras High.
Hood River Valley has contended with stiff competition the 5A Northwest Oregon Conference since moving into the Northwest Oregon Conference (NWOC) in 2022. The Eagles have never finished higher than sixth place in the nine-team league in volleyball.
Last year, the Eagles (5-11 NWOC, 7-15 overall) posted a 5-5 record at the outset of the season, but HRV won two of 11 games over the second half of the season and finished in seventh place.
The Eagles lost six seniors from last year’s squad, but they have seven players returning, including seniors Abri Lopez and Aspen Fridley, who are expected to be team leaders. Lopez (second team) and Fridley (honorable mention) earned NWOC all-league awards last season.
The Eagles have a new head coach this year and look to make the playoffs.
Noah Noteboom photo / file
Curtis is giving the Eagle program a fresh start, and there is renewed optimism as the program seeks a state playoff berth for the first time since 2018.
“In terms of the physical aspect, we have some tall girls, and we have five seniors, too,” Curtis said. “I want to have a fresh start with the team and leave everything that has happened in the past behind and start anew.
“I love volleyball. I played on the team for four years at HRV and I played two years of college volleyball at Linn-Benton Community College. It’s pretty cool to give back to the community that helped me make it to the college level.”
The Eagles begin their 19-game schedule with a jamboree on August 28 at Milwaukie High School. The Eagles open their 16-game NWOC schedule September 2 at Parkrose High School in Portland.
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