SWC, Dufur qualify for state playoffs

“Words can’t explain how I feel about this team and what we have been able to achieve,” Millis said. “I am so proud of these girls. They are very young, but they all stepped up as varsity starters in varsity positions and filled their roles very nicely. Today didn’t turn out like we were hoping, but we are still going to go out there and play as hard as we can until we get to state.”

Laurynn Davis and Kylie Iverson were both perfect on their serving, with Iverson posting three aces as the team served at a 93.2 percent clip.  

Holly Miles had four blocks and Destiny Mora-Lopez chipped in two blocks,  Hailey Anderson racked up a team-leading seven kills, and Jade McCoy dropped three kills.

“We didn’t pass well that game, so offensively, we couldn’t attack well,” SWC head coach Susie Miles said.

To get to the district championship, SWC swept Dufur by final margins of 25-14, 25-14 and 25-9.

The Lady Redsides were 70 of 72 on serve attempts for a 97.2 percent outcome, well above the team goal of 90 percent.

Anderson, McCoy, Davis and Millis were all at 100 percent for the match. Anderson and Davis each put up six aces, Holly Miles added 10 kills and Davis notched nine, and Miles also had nine digs with Davis tacking on seven digs.

“We started out really strong by beating Dufur in three, but once we got to Echo, we lost our momentum and couldn’t find it,” Davis said. “So now we are going to take that and use it and really just push through and find our momentum in every game because we want to go to state.”

Dufur climbs back into state mix

The Dufur volleyball squad lost its district opener in three sets to South Wasco County, but put the pieces back together to dispatch of Ione-Arlington by final tallies of 25-8, 25-22 and 25-19 to clinch third place and a state playoff berth.

“Since my freshman year, we haven’t been as strong of a team like we are now,” Dufur senior standout Zoe Hester said. “Once one person got down, everyone got down, so now we are closer and stronger and our bonds are like a family. That has helped us. We have shown that we can come back from anything and I think that is the best way to describe the level of redemption we have now. We were not going to let anything get in the way of our preseason goals and now that we are back to state, it shows the amount of heart and dedication we have.”

In her first year as coach, Teresa Morris has seen her team go through some ups and downs, but are entering the postseason as winners of seven of eight matches in the month of October for their first state qualification since 2017.

“This year, we have been focused on playing and working as a team. We still struggle with that at times, but our team dynamic is as strong as ever. They have been able to overcome so many obstacles this year and that has made them so much stronger. They work hard in practice and they are willing to do whatever it takes to have success. That has been a huge lift for these ladies.”

As the district champion, Echo plays again this weekend, where a win vaults them to a state spot in Redmond, while SWC and Dufur have to win two matches to earn a trip to Redmond.