The six Riverhawk seniors were honored for their four-year contribution to The Dalles High program in a pregame ceremony. Those seniors included Gigi Hiser, Zoe Dunn, Kaylee Fleming, Lydia DiGennaro, Ahnikah Rubio, and Kennedy Abbas.
The Riverhawks (8-1 TVC, 19-2 overall) also won 3-0 over at home Oct. 11 over Madras. All of the Riverhawk wins have been by either 2-0 or 3-0 sweeps. The Dalles has played in two tournaments this year, winning six tournament games by 2-0 and 13 games by 3-0. The Dalles has a 53-6 set record, which is best out of 31 Class 4A teams.
The Riverhawks, guided by Coach Julie Summers, conclude the regular season Wednesday at Molalla High (4-5 TVC, 9-9 overall). If the Riverhawks win at Molalla, they’ll win their first league title since 2010, when they won the Columbia River Conference Championship.
“These are not the ideal type of games to have going into the postseason without having any tough games, but it is what it is, and we’ll get through it and get league done,” said Summers. “I think we can go the distance (five sets) and we’re conditioned for it. The girls are definitely eager and hungry to compete in the state playoffs.”
The Riverhawks dominated the match versus Gladstone, 25-5, 25-2, 25-10, which marked their eighth straight home win. The Riverhawks started with a lopsided set one win and continued the momentum in set two. DiGennaro served an ace for set point, making it 24-2, and then Fleming had a set-winning kill.
“I’m so glad that I was able to play, because I’ve been sick recently and I missed a couple of games, but I’m better now,” said Fleming. “I’m actually surprised about our success because last year we didn’t have a good season. I never thought we would be in a first-place tie with Crook County in our league, because they’ve been really good for the last few years.
“We’re hoping to win the state championship and get a new banner to hang up in our gym, which would be really cool.”
In the third set, The Dalles jumped in front 7-1 on an ace by DiGennaro. Abbas then had back-to-back kills to extend the margin to 9-1, forcing a Gladstone timeout. The Dalles extended its lead to double digits at 17-7 on a kill by Dunn, who celebrated her 18th birthday Oct. 13.
“I wasn’t expecting this much, and it was a really special day for sure,” said Dunn, who had a dual celebration with Senior Night festivities in addition to the joyful birthday party atmosphere game at Kurtz Gym. “It felt pretty good having my birthday and Senior Night on the same day. I wasn’t expecting this many people to be here or this much to happen.
“I’m really excited about being in the playoffs and hopefully we’ll win our first game and then go to the state tournament, which would be an amazing experience.”
The Riverhawks are tied with No. 8-ranked Crook County (8-1 TVC, 16-8 overall) atop the league standings. The Dalles would win the conference title in a tiebreaker decided by the team that’s higher in the OSAA rankings. In addition, The Dalles split two games with Crook County, winning 3-0 at home Oct. 6 and losing a close game 3-2 at Crook County High School in Prineville Sept. 15. That was the Riverhawks’ only loss to a Class 4A squad this year.
The Riverhawks have qualified for the OSAA state playoffs for the first time since 2015. The Dalles will earn an Oct. 29 first-round home game in the 16-team state playoffs with a win Wednesday over Molalla. Winners of first-round games advance to the 4A state tournament quarterfinals Nov. 4-5 at Springfield High School.
The Riverhawks last reached the state tournament in 2001, when they earned the Class 3A fifth-place trophy. The Riverhawks last won a state title in 1989.
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