The Dalles girls volleyball players Kendyl Sallee (13) and Makenzie Bustos (4) celebrate a score against the Molalla Indians on Sept. 28. Martin Gibson photo
The Dalles girls volleyball players Kendyl Sallee (13) and Makenzie Bustos (4) celebrate a score against the Molalla Indians on Sept. 28. Martin Gibson photo
THE DALLES — The No. 4-ranked The Dalles High Riverhawks continued to enjoy success in OSAA Class 4A girls volleyball as they recorded two more Tri-Valley Conference wins last week.
The defending Tri-Valley Conference champion Riverhawks (4-0 TVC, 10-3 overall) won at home, 3-0, over the Molalla High Indians (2-2 TVC, 8-6 overall) on Sept. 28. They followed with a 3-1 road win over the Estacada High Rangers (2-2 TVC, 5-5 overall) on Sept. 30.
Fourth-year Coach Teresa Morris said the first set (a 25-20 loss) against Estacada was a wakeup call. “We turned things around and won the next three sets,” said Morris. “I knew that the recent matches versus Estacada and Madras (a 3-1 win Sept. 23) would be our toughest road games. Getting those two wins really helps put us in a better position. We’re hoping to have an undefeated league record like we did last year (8-0).”
The win over Estacada was the 16th consecutive TVC win for the Riverhawks. Their last setback was a 3-1 loss to the Crook County High Cowgirls on Oct. 8, 2024. Crook County moved up to Class 5A in 2025.
Leading the win over Molalla were junior outside hitter Jazzy Morris-Holmes (15 kills, nine digs, five aces), senior middle blocker Evelyn Rogers (nine kills, block) and junior outside hitter Aspyn Rubio (six kills, block).
The victory over Molalla marked the 27th consecutive home win for the Riverhawks; the last time the Riverhawks lost at home was a 3-1 setback to Crook County on Sept. 14, 2023.
“We do tend to play much better at home, like most teams do and we’ve been tough to beat at home for the last few years,” said Coach Morris. “We always have good sized crowds at home and that makes it a pretty loud atmosphere for us at Kurtz Gym.”
Also against Molalla, senior Manuia Crichton-Tunai (10 digs, block), sophomore setter Taylor Tuia (four aces) and junior Makenna Liberidhs (10 digs) were key to the win.
Against Estacada, the Riverhawks were led by Morris-Holmes (31 kills, 25 digs, six aces), Rogers (nine kills, 10 digs), Rubio (five kills, seven digs) and senior libero Edie May (three kills, 10 digs). Senior Katelyn Dewey (four kills, eight digs) and Tuia (two kills, 40 assists, 11 digs) also had a strong performance versus the Rangers. The Riverhawks served 89 percent.
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