By Mike Weber
For Columbia Gorge News
THE GORGE — The Class 1A Big Sky League volleyball regular season schedule concluded last week with Dufur, South Wasco and Sherman advancing to the district playoffs.
As such, the league’s top two finishing teams, Dufur and Ione/Arlington, earn first-round byes into the district tourney. The Big Sky’s No. 6 finisher (Spray) plays Oct. 21 at No. 3 (South Wasco) while No. 5 (Condon) is at No. 4 (Sherman). First-round winners on Oct. 21 advance to the Oct. 25 district tournament at The Dalles High School.
The Spray-South Wasco winner plays Ione/Arlington in one tournament semifinal match (at approximately 11:30 a.m.), and the Condon/Sherman winner plays Dufur in the other, a 10 a.m. matchup. The top three finishers from the four-school district tournament automatically qualify for the 32-team Class 1A state playoffs. Any additional Big Sky teams ranked among the top 32 in the Oregon Scholastic Activities Association rankings (as of Oct. 25) also qualify for state.
The Dufur High Rangers have momentum as they finished undefeated in the league standings with a 12-0 mark and a 17-2 overall record. The No. 9-ranked Rangers capped their perfect regular season with three, 3-0 wins last week.
The Rangers won an Oct. 13 nonleague contest over Open Door Christian, followed by an Oct. 14 win over Lyle/Wishram (3-9 Big Sky, 3-11 overall) and an Oct. 15 win over Spray/Mitchell/Wheeler (4-8 Big Sky, 11-13 overall).
The Rangers have lost just six sets all season, which is the fewest of all 77 Class 1A squads. The Rangers won 11 of their 12 league matches by 3-0 margins, losing a set Sept. 30 in a 3-1 home win over Ione/Arlington.
The Rangers, guided by first-year Coach Aimee Bell, last qualified for state in 2019.
“If the team continues to play like they have this year, then we’ll have an excellent chance of winning the district championship,” said Bell, who was a Ranger assistant coach the previous two years. “Ainslee Eisland has been a key player for us, and she’s done an incredible job setting this season.”
A quartet of juniors have led the Rangers’ offensive attack this year: Eisland (19.2 assists per game average), middle blocker Cadence Young (10.2 kills per game average), middle blocker Hailee Pechanec (eight kills per game) and outside hitter Miranda Prettyman (five kills per game).
Defending Big Sky League Champion South Wasco County (10-2 league, 19-8 overall) also has momentum after winning seven consecutive Big Sky contests to help them take third place. The No. 21-ranked Redsides finished a game behind second place Ione/Arlington (11-1 league, 19-5 overall).
The Redsides have qualified for the state playoffs five straight seasons.
Sherman, guided by first-year Coach Kayci Sharp, took fourth place in the league standings, and the Huskies also own a seven-game win streak. The Huskies capped their regular season schedule with a 3-1 road win Oct. 14 over Spray/Mitchell/Wheeler, followed by a 3-1 home win Oct. 16 over Trout Lake.
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