The Dalles volleyball earns berth to state

“It was a great night and we just tried to make it pretty special for our seniors,” said Morris. “It can be easy to feel overconfident in a matchup like this. One thing that we’ve been working on is to just play our level of volleyball against every team instead of dropping to our opponent’s level and I think we’ve done that pretty well. That’s what good teams do.”

The Riverhawks will play a 5 p.m. contest Saturday against the Greater Oregon League champion Pendleton High Buckaroos (6-0 GOL, 13-8 overall) at Pendleton High School. The Riverhawks won, 3-2, over the Buckaroos in a Sept. 7 nonleague matchup at Pendleton.

The winner of that game advances to the state tournament quarterfinals Nov. 3-4 at Springfield High School. The Riverhawks qualified for the 2022 quarterfinals a year ago.

The Riverhawks needed the victory over Molalla in order to earn second place and get a higher playoff seeding than Estacada, which was tied for second place with The Dalles in the standings. The Crook County High Cowgirls (10-0 TVC, 18-9 overall) won the TVC title.

By finishing second, the Riverhawks avoided a play-in round matchup.

“I’m super proud of the team and this is a fun group to work with,” Morris said. “We’ve had a great season with this great group of girls.”

The eight Riverhawk seniors were accompanied by their parents in a festive pregame ceremony to honor them for their contributions to the volleyball program. Those seniors included Marissa Baldy, Madelyn Harrison, Lilly Adams, Jeilane Stewart, Zoe LeBreton, Natalie Titus, and the Crichton-Tunai twin sisters, Keiliani and Kaleyah.

Once play starters, the Riverhawks dominated the match, building a 13-2 set lead. Stewart then served seven straight points, including two aces, forcing a Molalla timeout.

“I’m so proud of my team for getting the win and helping us advance to the state playoffs,” Stewart said. “I believe that we can make it to the state tournament. As long as we just keep playing hard and continue working together and practicing well, then I think we’ll get there.”

LeBreton, who capped the set one, 25-10, win with a kill said the senior ceremony was special. “It was one of the best ones that I’ve ever seen here,” she said. “Just having all my family and friends here was very important to me.”

In set two, Stewart served 12 straight service points to help the Riverhawks build a 17-3 advantage. Stewart then capped a 25-8 set two victory with a kill shot.

In set three, senior setter Kaleyah Crichton-Tunai helped the Riverhawks get the early momentum with six straight service points. A kill by junior middle blocker Laci Hoylman lifted The Dalles in front 6-0.

Sophomore libero Aizlynn Rubio served four straight service points, including two aces to help extend the Riverhawk lead to 12-2 and Molalla would get no closer the rest of the match.