Staff report
Columbia Gorge News
THE GORGE — Regular season champion Dufur won the 2026 Big Sky district volleyball championship Oct. 24 at The Dalles High School, where the Rangers beat Sherman County in three sets.
The Rangers (20-3 overall, 12-0 Big Sky) advanced to the Saturday evening championship match with a semifinal win Saturday morning over Ione/Arlington (25-8, 25-13, 25-14) — the eventual third-place winner. Coach Crystal Pechanec’s Dufur squad beat Sherman (20-3, 10-1) in its season opener on Sept. 1. The two teams then swept through the Big Sky regular season unscathed, setting up the rematch in the district championship venue which Dufur won, 25-17, 25-19, 25-15.
Dufur was led this season by two-time Big Sky player of the year Cadence Young, first team players Hailee Pechanec and Ainslee Eisland, and second teamer Miranda Prettyman. The four players were among the seven seniors on their roster. Freshman Addison Underhill played a big role in the title match with her outside hitting prowess for Dufur.
Dufur, Sherman, Ione/Arlington, Wheeler County and Lyle/Wishram all advanced to the 28-team 2026 OSAA Class 1A state playoffs. First-round playoff matches are Oct. 28; Dufur and Sherman have first-round byes. Dufur will play at home on Oct. 31 against the winner of Chiloquin at Ione/Arlington; Sherman will host the winner of Lyle/Wishram at Prairie City.
Also earning first-team Big Sky honors, as voted on by the league coaches were: Kiara Peters, Chloe Simpson, and Dulce Anaya of Sherman; and Molly McMurray of Wheeler County. Among the local second team players were Vivian Tennison of Lyle and Iris Deiders of Trout Lake. Jayden Chiccino and Taya Howell of South Wasco, Jocee Hoctor of Trout Lake, and Kaileigh Kopczynski of Sherman received honorable mention.
Eagles finish in tie for third
A three-game win streak in its final matches buoyed the young Hood River Valley girls volleyball team to its best season in eight years. The Eagles finished in a tie for third place in the Northwest Oregon Conference with a 7-5 record and 9-11 mark overall. Coach Emily Curtis’ team — the youngest in the seven-team conference with one senior — and St. Helens tied for third behind Centennial and Sandy.
Hood River Valley’s .450 winning percentage was the best for the program since the 2018 team went 22-5, tied for second in the Intermountain Conference and won the consolation championship at the Class 5A state tourney. Curtis was a senior outside hitter on that team.
She guided this year’s HRV team to marked improvement — its 7-5 league mark also the best since 2018, and the first time since then that the Eagles have been above .500 in conference. The improvement was evident in its last match at home against St. Helens. The first meeting between the two teams resulted in a 3-0 Lions’ sweep. The Eagles turned the tables on the rematch on Oct. 22, winning in straight sets, 25-22, 25-19, 25-15.
The first two sets were close throughout, but HRV didn’t trail after a Taylor Duckwall kill shot tied the first set at 13. Lylah Hunter added an ace and a hitting error prompted St. Helens Coach Kali Kline to use a timeout. HRV held its largest lead, 24-18, after back-to-back blocks for points by senior Addi Van Metre. The visitors fought off four set points before Tia Britt’s tip was mishandled and the hosts won the first set.
St. Helens’ 3-0 start in the second set was short-lived, as later, an angle spike by Amelia Gabriel helped HRV build a 17-11 lead. Eleanor Buser’s stuff block gave Hood River Valley set point and Britt served the clinching, set point for a 2-0 lead.
The final set was punctuated by HRV’s 7-0 scoring run early, enabled the Eagles to take a 13-5 lead. It was 16-13 when Honey Wampler Bryan’s “look-what-I-did” pass went over the net and fell for a point between three St. Helens players. HRV was first to 20 when the Lions couldn’t handle Hannah Ravins’ serve. Later, after St. Helens pulled within 22-15, three Lion mistakes, two on Hunter’s serves, completed the HRV sweep.
Hood River won at Milwaukie on Oct. 20 and its 3-0 sweep at Parkrose had the Eagles going 9-0 in sets to end the season.
Columbia hosts playoff
The Columbia High Bruin volleyball team will host Rochester (4-13) at 5 p.m. Oct. 29 in the play-in match of the eight-team 2026 District 4-1A playoffs. Columbia (8-9 overall, 5-8 Trico League) finished fifth in the league standings after a split of matches this past week — a win over Castle Rock and a loss to Seton Catholic.
Columbia was scheduled to play visiting Stevenson on Oct. 27 in the final regular season Trico match for both teams. (That match has no bearing on the Bruins’ fifth-place standing in the Trico.) The winner of the Oct. 29 playoff match will play the WIAA’s No. 2-ranked 1A team, La Center, in the district playoffs on Oct. 31.
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