Finally getting her chance to shine, The Dalles setter Savannah Bass is making the most of her opportunity.
The senior dished up a career-high 28 assists and added two digs and a service ace to lead the undefeated Riverhawk volleyball team to a three-game sweep over Ridgeview Tuesday at Kurtz Gym in The Dalles.
Bass’ assists were spread to seven different players, led by Lori Cimmiyotti’s 13 and Maddy Bradford’s eight.
“Savannah came in as a transfer student last year, and she didn’t know any of the girls, so she just found a way to fit right in,” said second-year Riverhawk volleyball head coach Neticia Fanene. “She didn’t see a whole lot of playing time last year, but she has been amazing this year. She is building that connection with her hitters, like Lori and Maddy and some of the other girls. She is taking care of business out on the floor.”
One show of confidence and progression came in the opening set against the visiting Ravens.
The Dalles led 24-20 after a kill by Iliana Telles, but the Ravens bounced back with five consecutive points to lead 25-24.
Ridgeview then inched ahead 26-25 and served for the opening set, but the Riverhawks earned a sideout on a Ridgeview miscue.
Bradford served the final two points to put TD ahead 1-0 in the match after a 28-26 score, as the last point came on a Ridgeview kill attempt that floated long.
TD nearly squandered its first set, a trend that happened often in the past.
Fanene commended the team’s resiliency.
“That is a great term right there, mental toughness,” Fanene said. “Most of these seniors have been playing together since freshman year. They know each other and I think over these last few years, they have been able to get comfortable with each other and really trust each other. That is something you can’t have immediately by throwing six girls on the floor together. They have built trust with each other and I think now they are getting a little more confidence under their belts along with a couple of wins and now they will build on top of that.”
In the second set, the Riverhawks jumped ahead 6-3 and then made it 10-6 on a kill by Bradford.
Cimmiyotti had a block, Bradford added an ace serve and Jodi Thomasian capped a 10-6 rally with a kill to swell the Riverhawk lead to 20-12.
Ahead by a 23-17 margin, Bradford and Cimmiyotti dropped back-to-back kills to seal a 25-17 win to move TD ahead 2-0 in the match.
Ridgeview came out strong in the third set with leads of 9-5, 14-9 and 17-11, but The Dalles slowly began to chip away.
Cimmiyotti capped a 10-3 rally with a kill to give TD a 21-20 advantage, and then Deysi Velador added consecutive ace serves to move the Hawks to a 24-20 lead, one point to its second straight sweep win to open the season.
On Velador’s next serve, the Ravens attempted a kill, but it floated out of bounds, and TD won the third set by a 25-20 score.
The Ridgeview duo of Josie Miller and Brooke Thomson had 10 kills apiece, Shelby Dubay added eight aces and Lauren Row had 18 digs to round out the stat leaders.
“These girls are young and are hungry and we are going to learn from this,” said first-year head coach Doug Magee, who is assisted by his daughter Siterra. “I couldn’t be happier with the progress they have shown already. I will love to see how this all looks in about three or four games.”
In addition to her team-high 13 kills, Cimmiyotti had 13 digs and 2.5 blocks. Bradford tacked on six digs and two aces.
Kayla Seibel was good for four kills and 2.5 blocks and Iliana Telles had four kills, six digs and a service ace.
Telles gave credit to Bass and Cimmiyotti, the team captains, for offering words of inspiration to get the group motivated in their first home match of the season.
“Not only are we strong individually, we are strong as a team,” Telles said. “We know each other more and our coach brings us together and we love each other. I feel like practicing more and getting everyone in more is going to bring us together as a team and as a family through this season.”
TD (2-0 overall) next heads out to the Mountain View Tournament at 9 a.m. Friday in Bend.
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