The biggest lesson to learn for any high school team playing in the fall is, it’s early.
Preseason has just begun, and in practices and exhibitions, depth charts are assembled and players gain a better foothold on the varsity stage.
Thursday at Dufur High School, the Lady Rangers, Heppner and Sherman were on the court for volleyball action in a non-league three-way duel.
Dufur went 2-0, Heppner split two matches and the Huskies, playing in their first matches of the 2014 campaign, finished the night 0-2.
Against Heppner, the Rangers rebounded from a 25-21 loss in the opener with a resounding answer to win in four games.
Dufur posted numbers of 25-21, 25-21 and 25-17 to move ahead.
Taylor Darden dropped a team-high 16 kills and added 12 digs to her stat line.
Montana Ferres added 11 kills, five aces and 14 digs, and Tianna Ellis chipped in with six kills.
Abbey Stelzer dove all over the floor for 22 digs, while sophomore setter Sydney Reed dished up 34 assists and tacked on five kills, four digs and a service ace.
“We didn’t pass well at all in serve-receive tonight in this match,” said Dufur coach Kelly Darden. “We stayed in the match starting in the second set with our serving. That is what sparked our comeback. Finally, we started passing better, too.”
In Thursday’s nightcap, Dufur squared off with Big Sky Conference opponent Sherman and notched a three-game sweep to finish the night undefeated.
Once again, Taylor Darden was good for eight kills and she posted three aces and seven digs.
Ferres smashed five kills and nine aces, including a streak of 11 consecutive service points with aces to help spur a 25-10 victory in the third frame.
Early in the regular season, the play of Reed, Sorensen, Sarah Helyer, Chloe Beeson and Emily DePriest have caught the eye of the senior Ellis.
The Rangers coming off an impressive 2013 season and with the departure of a good core of seniors, there was some questions that needed to be answered.
Regardless of grade, stature or otherwise, Ellis said the important aspect to realize is that everyone on the team needs to pull in the same direction.
“It doesn’t matter if you are new or not, you want to have the same mindset coming in,” Ellis said. “We just need to stay positive and stay mindful that the big thing that we need do is to keep our focus on the game. It doesn’t matter who we are playing, we need to keep playing consistent and staying positive to keep our momentum going.”
Earlier in the night, Sherman lost in three games to Heppner by scores of 25-15, 25-7 and 25-14.
Coupled with the Dufur numbers, Husky coach Carrie Danchok said the pieces are there, so she will use the preseason slate to get things moving in the right direction.
“I am pretty optimistic with what we have got,” Danchok said. “It is going to be progressive. Good things will happen when we put the right players in the right spots. Down the road, we know what we want to do. I think we are going to be competitive. We are going to be much more competitive than we were a year ago.”
Still with an inexperienced team of four underclassmen and three juniors, new senior hitter Makenzie Blaylock is early in her acclimation process with this group.
Once the season progresses, she is banking on this roster forming a bond that will take them to higher levels.
“It has been a year since I have played with this team, so obviously there are some new players, new rotations and a new coach,” Blaylock said. “It is going to be different. It is our first game, them playing with me and me playing with them, and we had a couple of freshmen playing varsity. They did really good. We may have gotten beat both times today, but I honestly feel like by the time the season comes, we will be good.”
Dufur hosts the Ranger Jamboree Saturday in Dufur all day with Sherman and South Wasco County expected to be in attendance.
After that, the Rangers head to Moro for the Husky Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 13.
Once the final ball hits the court Saturday in Dufur, the Huskies head to Heppner for a non-league match at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
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