The Sherman High Huskies advanced to the 2021 district volleyball tournament, and they return a core group of players from that team this season.
The Huskies concluded their season with a 3-2 loss to Glenwood/Klickitat. The Huskies, guided by fifth-year head Coach Karissa Gorham and assistant Kennedy Nofzinger, finished with a 7-6 Big Sky mark and were 10-10 overall.
“I think we’ll have some success; we have a really solid group with lots of seniors, so we’ll have plenty of leadership,” said Gorham. “We have some freshmen that are looking pretty good, too. We had obstacles last year with COVID issues and we had to quarantine players often. I don’t think that we had the same team for more than two games in a row, so that was a pretty hard thing.
“I’m really looking forward to the season and I think we’ll be pretty competitive. We definitely have the potential to have a more successful team than we did last year.”
Sherman lost only two seniors (Cali Johnson and Allie Marker) and so there will be a strong nucleus of returning experienced players this year in seniors Natalie Martin, Morgan Geary, Emily Lesh, and Stiehl Green, along with juniors Pyeper Walker, Sophie Hulke and Kaelex Peters. The Huskies have 21 players who started practice Aug. 15.
The Huskies last reached the state playoffs in 2018 and they’re hoping that they can get back to the postseason again in 2022.
“It was really exciting to reach the state playoffs, but we haven’t done so well the last few years and we’re hoping to get back to the playoffs this year,” Gorham said.
Sherman opens Aug. 30 with a match against Horizon Christian at Central Christian High School in Redmond. The Huskies play a doubleheader, which also includes a match versus Central Christian. The Huskies’ home opener is Sept. 9 at 4 p.m. versus the Wallowa High Cougars.
Dufur
The Rangers finished the 2021 season with a 5-3 league mark and were 8-8 overall after concluding the 2021 season with a 3-2 home loss to the Ione/Arlington High Cardinals in the Big Sky District playoffs.
Dufur lost five seniors to gradation, and they will be guided by new head Coach Jody Weaver and assistant coach Sydney Reed. This is actually the second stint that Weaver has been on the Rangers’ coaching staff. She was previously an assistant coach with the team for many years, but then she took a hiatus, and she has now returned to the team for the first time since 2017.
“I’m definitely very excited about coming back and having the opportunity to work with these student athletes again,” said Weaver. “We’re definitely going to have a very young team, so it kind of feels like we’re starting out like this together and it gives us a chance to grow. We have some strong returning players like Allie Masterson and Hayley Peterson. Both of them played good key roles for the team last year.
“I’m excited to see them take over and have a chance to lead the team now that so many of the previous upperclassmen are gone.”
Teresa Morris, who coached Dufur the previous three years, is now an assistant volleyball coach at The Dalles High School.
The Rangers, led by Masterson and Peterson, will be seeking to reach the state playoffs for the first time since 2019. Dufur plays its season opener on the road Aug. 25 at 3 p.m. against Weston-McEwen, followed by a 5 p.m. contest versus the Imbler High Panthers. Both games are at Weston-McEwen High School in Athena. Dufur’s home opener is Sept. 1 at 3 p.m. versus the Heppner High Mustangs of the Class 2A Blue Mountain Conference.
Glenwood/Klickitat
An experienced Glenwood/Klickitat squad with six seniors enjoyed some success last year with a 7-3 league mark and an 9-6 overall record. The Eagles, guided by Coach Jaecee Hoctor, reached the semifinals of the Big Sky District Tournament at Echo High School before losing 3-1 to Ione/Arlington, falling one game short of qualifying for the state playoffs.
“We’re going to be really young, but our seniors have a lot of experience, and it will just be a matter of filling in the shoes of the departed seniors and just trying to move forward,” said Hoctor.
The Eagles will be led by the quartet of seniors Isabella Bensel, Morgan Smith, Lena Thiemann, and Grace Griffin. Juniors Jayla Avila, Taneal Kola, Oriana Atchley and Brenna Beeks will also help provide the Eagles with another solid team that is hoping to reach the state playoffs. The Eagles open the season Sept. 3 with a match-up against a yet-to-be-determined opponent in the Dufur Classic Tournament at Dufur High School. The Eagles play their first home game Sept. 13 at 5 p.m. versus Horizon Christian, which is the Big Sky League opening contest for both squads.
Horizon Christian restarted its high school program a year ago when it played an independent schedule and had a 4-11 record. The Hawks return to the Big Sky League this year for the first time since 2015 under first-year Coach Chelsea Cox. Horizon has seven varsity players returning from its young squad of a year ago when it and Trout Lake combined to form a team because of a low number of players at each school.
Lyle
The Lyle/Wishram Cougars open their 15-match Big Sky schedule Sept. 13 at Maupin against defending champion South Wasco County. Lyle/Wishram was 0-6 in league and 1-6 overall last year.
The Cougars are still looking for matches to add to their 10-game schedule and the Sept. 13 contest also is their season opener at this point. Lyle is one of four Washington schools that joined the OSAA last year, along with Bickleton High, Glenwood/Klickitat and Trout Lake. Trout Lake will not have a volleyball team this season. Bickleton, led by Coach Katie Moore, will open the season Sept. 8 with a match against Grand View Christian in a tournament at Horizon Christian High School in Hood River.
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