HOOD RIVER — Hood River Valley (HRV)won more games but lost a Northwest Oregon Conference volleyball match on Sept. 9 against visiting Hillsboro, 3 sets to 1. The Eagles (3-3) won the third set 25-10, and their three set losses were by a combined total of eight games — 25-23, 25-21 and 25-23. The loss dropped HRV into seventh place in the nine-team NWOC. Hood River has two league matches this week — vs. Putnam on Sept. 16 and at Milwaukie on Sept. 18.
Hillsboro (2-2) started strong in the road match for the Spartans, building a 12-2 lead. A Tia Britt spike started a 7-of-9 game run for HRV, which pulled within 14-10. The margin hovered in that range until the closing games. Hood River fought off four set points behind the serving of Abri Lopez, before Hillsboro’s Adrionna Raatz delivered the clinching kill shot.
The second game saw HRV use a 7-0 run to build a 13-5 lead. The Eagles fell behind but tied the match at 19-19, before Hillsboro seized control of the momentum with a 6-2 scoring run to go ahead 2-0 in sets.
HRV’s Emily Doss serves the ball against Hillsboro last Tuesday. Â
Zach Thummel photo
The third set was all HRV, as the Eagles led 6-2 — prompting a Hillsboro timeout — then 11-3 and 19-9. It was 20-10 when Emily Doss went on a 5-0 service run for Coach Emily Curtis’ team. Doss helped her cause with a great dig after which Addi Van Metre wasted no time in backhanding the ball over the net for the Eagles’ 23rd point.
Hillsboro led throughout the third set, including by as many as 10 points. Britt’s tip point pulled Hood River within 20-14, and a few unforced Hillsboro mistakes aided the Eagles’ late scoring push where they fought off four match points.
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