Dufur volleyball finishes magical ‘14

That contest and a 3-1 win over South Wasco (Sept. 13) was the only time all season that the Cougars lost a set in a 1A match.

In the championship game rematch, head coach Kelly Darden’s Rangers (28-4) had hopes of reversing the results from the earlier contest and capture the title.

Dufur had lots of momentum as well, riding a 15-game win streak, including a quarterfinal win over Trinity Lutheran and a semifinal victory over Crane.

However, a powerhouse Cougar squad proved worthy of their high recognition by concluding a successful season with a 3-1 win (25-19, 25-18, 21-25, 25-15) over Dufur Saturday night at Ridgeview High School in Redmond.

“I am extremely proud of my girls,” Darden said. “At the start of the season, I didn’t really expect us to get this far. They’ve really bought in to what I’ve tried to teach them and they’ve all helped one another a lot too. The girls battled hard, but we just had too many unforced errors that put us in a tough position that was hard to overcome and that's the way things go sometimes.”

A memorable journey

Despite the setback, it was truly a magical season for the Rangers.

Dufur brought home a very prestigious second place trophy, while helping to boost Ranger Pride by continuing the successful tradition of having a title contending volleyball team year after year.

Dufur took third in state a year ago and has qualified for the tournament three of the last four years.

The Rangers also won the Big Sky Conference District title for the first time since 2007.

A trio of Rangers were in the spotlight too with senior Montana Ferres and sophomore Kirsten Sorensen selected for Second Team All-State Tournament Awards and senior Taylor Darden received a First Team All-State Tournament Award.

“I’m just glad that we came together as a team and made it this far,” said Ferres, who had a team-high 20 digs along with seven kills. “We definitely became a stronger team as the season progressed and we’re just thrilled about being in the tournament. You always hope to end the season with a win. Taking second place in the state is just awesome. I’m very proud of all my teammates and we’re all very satisfied with the highly successful season we had.”

Cougars start out on a hot streak

The opening set included a total of three lead changes and six tie scores, with the final one at 8-8.

The hard hitting Cougars, led by senior Miranda Halverson (29 kills) went on an 8-0 run though to build a 16-8 lead.

As the teams traded points, the Cougars led 21-13.

Following a Dufur sideout, Darden (three aces, 18 digs, 17 kills) served two service points to narrow the deficit to 21-16.

The Cougars regained the momentum though on their way to a 25-19 win.

“We struggled defensively and we didn't pass the ball particularly well,” said Coach Darden. “I think it was obvious that they (Cougars) just had too many more weapons than us. They have a great coach (Janin McGrath) and they just played amazing. They dug the ball well and just put the ball whereever they needed to by hitting holes to score points.”

Country Christian built early leads of 5-0 and 12-6 in the second set.

Dufur came back with a 4-0 run, including a Darden kill, trimming the margin to 12-10 to force a Cougar timeout.

The Rangers continued battling tough, led by Darden’s solid serving, with six straight service points.

The Rangers knotted it 12-12 on a Ferres kill and then took a 13-12 advantage on a Cougar hitting error when a ball was hit out of bounds on the sideline.

“We knew that they (Country Christian) were going to give us a good game,” said Ferres. “We knew that we all had to give it our best shot in order to have a chance to win and that’s what we did. We went out there and worked as hard as we could against a very good team.”

After three deadlocks at 13, 14 and 15, Country Christian gained a cushion with a 5-1 run to build a 20-16 advantage and pulled away at the end with a 5-2 run in the 25-18 win.

Rangers battle back

Trailing in sets 2-0, Dufur desperately needed a third set win.

The Rangers came out fired up while playing with a sense of urgency.

The Cougars were ready for the challenge as well.

It was a seesaw battle that was tied 14 times, including a final deadlock at 20.

A Darden kill put Dufur up 21-20.

A Dufur sideout extended the Ranger lead to 22-20, forcing a Cougar timeout.

Dufur remained ahead by two at 23-21 and got game point at 24-21 on a Cougar hitting error.

An unreturned serve by sophomore setter Sydney Reed (26 assists, four aces, 12 digs), who served the final three points, propelled the Rangers to victory.

Country pulls through

The Rangers needed to continue their momentum in the fourth set for a chance to get another win and have a shot at the title.

Unfortunately, it was the Cougars who responded well to a rare set loss as they jumped out to an 8-4 lead.

The teams traded points, with the Cougars continuing to lead at 14-10 forcing a Ranger timeout.

Country Christian took control with a key 5-1 rally, extending the margin to 19-11, as Coach Darden called another timeout.

The Cougars upped the margin to 22-12, while capitalizing on Ranger unforced errors.

Both teams traded points until the end of the match, with the Cougars winning 25-15, followed by their championship celebration.

“We just couldn’t develop any offensive consistency at all and our serve-receiving wasn’t very good,” said Darden. “When you don’t pass the ball well, it’s hard to sustain any offensive momentum. Whenever you don’t have any type of rhythm with hitting, it really puts your team at a disadvantage, which really hurt us.”

Dufur core offers bright future

The Rangers, who had over 150 fans cheering them on at the two-day tournament, also had a similar victory celebration for a fabulous season, with congratulatory and emotional hugs and photo opportunities among friends and family members.

“Nobody really expected us to get this far this year, because we lost a lot of seniors (four) last year,” said coach Darden. “My girls all stepped up and played very well all season. I’m super, super proud of them for being the second best team in the state, which is really amazing.”

From Sept. 26 until Saturday’s finale, Dufur went on a 15-match winning streak

During that streak, 12 of those wins were by sweep, including consecutive three-game wins over Arlington and Condon-Wheeler enroute to a Big Sky Conference championship.

On Nov. 1, Dufur defeated McKenzie in four games for a state sub-round triumph to earn a trip to Redmond.

The streak continued on Friday, as the Lady Rangers defeated both Trinity Lutheran and Crane to move into the state finals.

Making this run with leadership at the top, helped get everyone on the same page.

“Taylor and Montana really did a great job as our team captains and being excellent team leaders all year for us,” coach Darden said. “They were good role models and they set a good example for the younger girls, who have now learned what it takes to become a state-title contending team.”

The match marked the final volleyball game of their Dufur High School career for seniors Taylor Darden, Ferres, Aimeelyn Miller and Abbey Stelzer.

They can walk off satisfied in everything accomplished as a major part of the program’s success.

“I am so happy that we made it this far,” said Stelzer. “To be honest, at the beginning of the season, I wasn’t sure how far we would go, because we have a lot of young girls (two freshmen, three sophomores). I’m so happy and proud of the way we played and how nice it was that we became so close together just like family members.”

“We were hoping to win the title, but I think we’re all very happy to get second place,” Stelzer said. “Everyone worked as hard as they could and I feel very proud of my team for having such a good performance at the tournament.”

The future certainly looks bright for the Rangers too.

This group could very well advance to the tournament again next season since they’ll have lots of talented players returning.

Names like Reed, Sorensen, Helyer, Chloe Beeson and Emily DePriest are the foundation of underclassmen.

Tianna Ellis will take the reins as the team’s lone senior returner.

“Our younger girls all got lots of playing time this year and Sydney Reed did a great job as our setter,” said coach Darden. “The experience that they gained by stepping up and filling their roles will help them a lot and I think they’ll all do a very good job again next year.”