By Mike Weber
For Columbia Gorge News
THE DALLES — The Dalles High Riverhawks enjoyed a successful start to their OSAA Class 4A girls volleyball schedule by winning two of their first four non-league games.
The defending Tri-Valley Conference champion Riverhawks (5-2), guided by fourth-year Coach Teresa Morris, gained more momentum last week by winning three straight non-league contests.
“We kind of changed our lineup and moved some people around for our games last week and it seemed to work out pretty good for us,” said Morris, the 2025 TVC Coach-of-the-Year.
The Riverhawks won 3-0 on the road Sept. 8 over the Stayton High Eagles (1-2). They followed by playing in a two-game home series Sept. 10 versus 2025 state playoff squads. The Riverhawks faced Class 3A squads the Trinity Lutheran High Saints (2-2) of Bend and the Westside Christian High Eagles of Tigard.
The Riverhawks won 3-0 over the Saints (2-2) in their first match. In their second match at 7 p.m., the Riverhawks won 3-1 over the Eagles. The Riverhawks have been dealing with a number of injuries this year that include key players such as senior libero Edie May and junior outside hitter Aspyn Rubio, who were unable to play in some of the games earlier in the season.
“We’re just kind of waiting for all the girls to get healed and be back in the lineup so that we can have everyone playing,” said Morris. “Most of the injuries our players have are minor, but they’re not 100 percent healthy. We’re hoping that our girls will not miss too many more games. We’re hoping to have everyone healthy by the time we start our league schedule.”
May, a TVC second team award winner in 2025, just recently recovered from a foot injury that she sustained during the summer. May played in her first game of the season last week versus Stayton. Rubio, a junior outside hitter, suffered a sprained ankle in a Sept. 3, road game (a 3-1 loss) versus the No. 2-ranked Valley Catholic High Valiants (3-1).
“The girls do play well for each other, which is very helpful,” said Morris. “We’ve really worked hard in practice on our serving and serve receive. I think our serve receive is probably the best that we’ve had in recent years, so I’m feeling pretty good about that part of our game.
“Our long-term goal is to get back to the state tournament and win our league again.”
The Riverhawks played three games in three days followed by competing in a Sept. 12 eight-team tournament at Cascade High School in Turner. After a non-league home game Sept. 15 vs. Pendleton, the Riverhawks will compete in their final non-league series of games at a tournament Sept. 18 at Sisters. League play begins the following week.
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