After loss, TD netters focusing on play-in

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Call 541-296-9533 for more information or register at www.nwprd.org.

Two days after emptying the emotional tank in a Columbia River Conference finale against league champion Hood River Valley, The Dalles volleyball team could not find its groove in Thursday’s four-set non-league loss at home against 4A Scappoose.

“I think we just didn’t mentally-prepare ourselves for this match,” said TD head coach Neticia Fanene. “We had a big game on Tuesday and then we had to turn around and face somebody that we usually see in the preseason, so I think we just could not find the energy. We just got caught off-guard and didn’t show up tonight.”

The Indians won the opening set by a 25-15 score, but the Riverhawks came back strong in the second set in a hard-fought battle.

TD led by scores of 4-1, 10-5 and 11-9, but then fell behind by a 20-16 margin.

Down 23-20, Bailey LeBreton had a kill, and another kill to even the score at 23-all.

A Scappoose net violation gave the Hawks a 24-23 lead, and then on the ensuing serve, Sierra Watson slammed down a kill to give TD a 25-23 win to tie the match at 1-1.

The Dalles lost the third set, 25-9, and lost the fourth set by a 25-15 score.

Kathryn Bradford had 10 kills and 10 digs and Sierra Watson added six kills and nine digs to lead the Hawks.

Jodi Thomasian totaled four kills, 15 digs and a block assist, Kilee Hoylman added 12 digs, and Jocelyn Hernandez had six digs.

Lindsi Logue dished up 25 assists, three aces and seven digs.

In this match, 1992 The Dalles graduate Mark Sprenger coached on the sidelines for Scappoose in a happy homecoming.

“I have my family here, my mom’s here, my dad’s here and I have friends here, so it was fun,” Sprenger said. “They don’t always see me in this capacity, as a working person. We see each other on vacations or holidays. I got to spend some time with them before the match, but it is still a business trip. It was good to see friends and family.”

TD coach Neticia Fanene gave her team the weekend off to rest and recharge for their first state play-in game at 6 p.m. Tuesday against St. Helens.

On Sept. 17 at the Lakeridge Tournament, the Riverhawks played St. Helens (14-7 overall) and lost in two sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-20.

The Lady Lions are very similar to The Dalles in their defensive proficiency.

“We have seen them, we have played them and we know who they are. They know who we are,” Fanene said. “We stayed in it with them and we fought through that match. We fell short, but we played well. They are a really good defensive team and so are we, so I think we are well-matched.”

As a freshman last year, LeBreton gained valuable experience with a varsity team that wound up one win from earning a trip to the state site in Hillsboro.

She feels the team can accomplish so much more if they have the right frame of mind.

“We are very young and I think that we can do good things in the future and I think we can make it to state,” LeBreton said. “It will take motivation and having the right mindset and us not getting down on ourselves when we make a bad play or an error. It is about getting out of that negative feeling. We have to flush those, move on and try our hardest as a team.”

Losing a core group of senior leaders, there was a lot of uncertainty with how well the Riverhawks would do with a new roster.

On the year, TD has won twice against Hermiston and added wins over Redmond and Pendleton, and won a set against Hood River Valley on Tuesday.

“It feels pretty good to get to this point because I don’t think a lot people had faith in us that we could be able to do it,” Bradford said. “I knew from the beginning that our team would be young and inexperienced, but I knew that we would be just fine. Having that younger group, I think the future will be better and it will feel good to prove all those people wrong.”