A year ago, Oregon high school volleyball teams were celebrating a return to normalcy after two years of having seasons canceled and shortened because of the C0VID-19 pandemic. Last season was anything but normal for The Dalles High Riverhawks, who experienced a third straight year in which they endured some highly unusual circumstances.
The Riverhawks played their first home match Sept. 2, 2021, and then were on the road for more than a month as their usual home venue —Kurtz Gym — underwent renovation. A month later the Riverhawks had their second home match, also at the Wahtonka gym.
Things are back to normal for second-year Coach Julie Summers and her Riverhawk team, which will be playing in Kurtz Gym for the first time in 16 months. The Riverhawks open their 22-match schedule with a 6:30 p.m. home game Aug. 25 against Pendleton. The last time the Riverhawks played at Kurtz Gym was April 2021 during the COVID shortened six-week season.
“We’re definitely happy to be back in Kurtz Gym,” said Summers. “We got hit a few times last year with kids unable to play because of COVID. We had to play with people in different positions and having few players available for some games. We had a real young team last year too and it was my first full year as head coach.
“This year, we are definitely pushing the pace, we’ve been doing lots of off-season workouts and the kids have been playing on some summer club teams and they’ve been playing outdoor volleyball on sand. They’ve also been going to clinics and camps, too.”
The new normal has the Riverhawks playing in the six-team Class 4A Tri-Valley Conference, after many years in the OSAA’s Class 5A Intermountain Conference. The Tri-Valley Conference also includes Molalla, Madras, Gladstone, Estacada, and Crook County. The Riverhawks will be competing with schools with similar enrollment numbers.
Last year, the Riverhawks had a 7-11 overall record, including a 2-8 IMC mark for a fifth-place finish (out of six teams). Pendleton was 7-11, 3-7 in the IMC. The two teams split a two-game series last year with both squads winning 3-2 at home. Pendleton also moved down to Class 4A and is in the Greater Oregon League.
“Being in 4A and in a new league, we’ve set our expectations high, and we feel like we can win the league title,” said Summers. “I believe that we’ll be a top contender in our league. We’re familiar with Crook County, since they were with us as members of the IMC. Our biggest struggle last year was that we were so young that we just didn’t know how to finish games very well. This year, we’re working on playing together as a team and sacrificing whatever we need to do in order to be successful. We’re stepping things up a level in practice and we’re putting in a lot of work, so we’re all very excited.”
Unlike last year, the Riverhawks have an experienced 10-member squad that includes five seniors, four juniors and three sophomores. A year ago, a very young The Dalles squad had just one senior, Delaney Bailey and they had three freshmen.
The Riverhawks are anticipating 40 players to turn out for the first day of practice Aug. 15. The varsity will be led by junior setter Jeilane Stewart and senior middle blocker Kennedy Abbas, who both earned IMC all league awards a year ago. The 6-foot-1 Abbas earned a second team, all-league award and Stewart earned an IMC honorable mention award.
“I think we’re definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with,” said Summers. “Our biggest challenge is to make sure that we don’t beat ourselves. We just need to learn how to finish games and go after everybody and give it all we’ve got. We’ve got some heavy hitters, we’ve got great setting and we’ve been working on our passing and serve receive, which has been our biggest struggle. We’ve been working on improving our quickness and speed, too.”
Returning players who will also help provide the Riverhawks with a strong team include seniors Kaylee Fleming, Ahnika Rubio, Zoe Dunn, and Lydia DiGennaro. Juniors Zoe LeBreton, sisters Kaleyah and Keiliani Crichton-Tunai, and sophomores Lilly Adams, Madison Brock, and Laci Hoylman will play key contributing roles, as well.
“I think people are going to underestimate us, which is fine because I don’t mind flying under the radar and surprising some teams,” said Summers. “We’re ready, the girls are hungry and they’re working hard to represent our school as well as we can. We should do very well as long as we play together and play as a true team and then we’ll be very competitive.”
The Riverhawks schedule includes five tournaments, including The Dalles Invitational on Oct. 15. A 10-game TVC season begins Sept. 15 with a road game versus the Crook County High Cowgirls in Prineville. Following their season opener, The Dalles will play in the Hillsboro Tournament Aug. 27, followed by a home match against the La Grande High Tigers Aug. 30.
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