Oregon high school volleyball playoffs: Highlights from Day 2; vote for Saturday's top star

Here are some of the highlights and top performers from the second day of action in the OSAA volleyball playoffs

The Oregon high school volleyball state tournament fields are set after Saturday's action. / Photo by Blake Benard

The Oregon high school volleyball playoffs continued Saturday. Here are some of the highlights and top performers from the second day of matches. 

Don't see any details for your team's match? Email some notes and/or stats to rferran.scorebooklive@gmail.com. 

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CLASS 6A

Grant 3, Sheldon 2

For the first time in program history, Grant will play in the Class 6A main tournament bracket.

Senior setter/outside hitter Maggie McCarthy, a four-year starter who led the Generals to the second round each of the previous two seasons, came up big down the stretch of the fifth set Saturday in Northeast Portland, finishing with 12 kills, 25 assists and 23 digs to lead them past 2022 champion Sheldon, 19-25, 25-17, 17-25, 28-26, 15-13.

An Roesinger added 11 kills and four blocks, and freshman outside hitter Osa Olsgaard also had 11 kills. Ceily Wagstaff chipped in eight kills and a team-high five blocks, and libero Macy Davis had 35 digs.

The Generals (26-5) will play defending champion Jesuit (26-2) in Friday’s quarterfinals at 8 a.m. at Forest Grove High School.

Jesuit 3, South Eugene 0

Iman Foster hit .526 and combined with Sadie Ross and Jada Johnson for 33 kills as the 2023 state titlists swept visiting South Eugene, 25-14, 25-13, 25-22.

Crusaders coach Teresa Zimmerlee credited the play of their “dynamic crew in the back row” of Addy Azavedo, Julia Paulson and Kiana Johnson, who combined for 40 digs and passed well over a 2.0 on serve receive.

South Salem 3, Barlow 0

The Saxons (22-6) will make back-to-back quarterfinals appearances after a 25-23, 25-22, 25-16 sweep of the visiting Bruins, with Kamree Orizotti dishing out 35 assists and Briella Mathis making a match-high 18 kills.

“We played a really steady, consistent match today and took advantage of the opportunities when we had them,” South Salem coach Matt Leichty said.

Nadiah Luna added 12 digs and Avery Axmaker served four aces for South Salem, which plays crosstown rival Sprague in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Sprague 3, West Salem 0

Brooke Friesen had 16 kills, 10 digs and three blocks, and the host Olympians (23-6) are in the quarterfinals for the sixth time in the past seven postseasons after beating West Salem 25-21, 28-26, 25-19.

Charlotte Ponier had 26 digs and two aces, and Khloe Livingston chipped in with 12 kills, 13 digs and two blocks.

Oregon City 3, Forest Grove 0

The Pioneers (21-6) denied the Vikings the chance to play in their first state tournament in the past 24 years (which would have taken place on their home court), sweeping the visitors 25-17, 25-12, 28-26 as Three Rivers player of the year Paige Thies led the way with 20 of Oregon City’s 43 kills.

Grace Landon added 10 kills, Jordyn Marquett had nine, and setter Phoebe Hyland had 25 assists and three aces as the Pioneers, who lost to Jesuit in last year’s final, reached the quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive season.

Westview 3, Central Catholic 0

The Wildcats (23-6) survived a taut first set against the Rams before sweeping the visitors 26-24, 25-9, 25-17 in Northwest Portland to reach the quarterfinals for the third year in a row.

Sophomore middle blocker Ashlyn Pedersen had nine kills and eight aces, and senior middle blocker Steel Sinal added seven kills and seven blocks. Setter Aya Pantel had 18 assists, 10 digs and three aces, and libero Mady Lebeck had 11 digs and a 2.47 serve receive rating.

The last quarterfinal pairing will see No. 5 seed West Linn (17-8) take on No. 4 Nelson (23-4) after both advanced with sweeps of the Medford schools — the Lions 25-15, 25-19, 25-16 over South Medford, and the Hawks 25-22, 25-12, 25-14 over North Medford.

CLASS 5A

Caldera 3, North Eugene 2

Caldera needed five sets to punch its first state tournament ticket in the program’s four-year history, surviving after losing the fourth set to North Eugene to pull out a 19-25, 25-17, 25-20, 15-25, 15-9 victory in Bend.

Senior setter/right-side hitter Akela Utu, who helped the Wolfpack (14-9) start the program in 2021, had an 11-point serving run to open the final set as they seized control. Ava Kailey had eight kills and Aubrey Walker added seven for Caldera, which will face two-time defending champion Crescent Valley (24-3) in Friday’s quarterfinals at Forest Grove High School.

“We had a dip in the fourth set but started Game 5 with good energy and an all-out mindset,” Wolfpack coach Alicia Roe-Rudloff said. “We are so excited to make our first state presence as a new high school here in Bend.”

Crescent Valley 3, Canby 0

The Cougars (14-9) came back from a slow start to push the Raiders in the final two sets before falling 25-4, 25-17, 25-14 in Corvallis.

“The first set, the team came out nervous and very shellshocked,” Canby coach Terri Jo Schlatter said. “But I was really proud of the team for settling in for Sets 2 and 3. We were very scrappy and kept balls in play and made Crescent Valley work for their points.”

Geneva Diggles led Canby with six blocks, Mady Olson had 10 digs, and Makayla Ford hit .417 with five kills.

Bend 3, West Albany 0

The Wolfpack will be joined in Forest Grove by their crosstown rivals and two-time reigning runner-up Lava Bears, who swept the Bulldogs 25-7, 25-23, 25-18 in Central Oregon.

Jasi Kjellesvik led Bend (16-7) with 15 kills and 10 digs, Lucy Schuller added 11 kills, and Brooke Braude had 20 digs and three aces.

Crater 3, Summit 2

The quarterfinals nearly had a third Bend school in the bracket, but the fifth-seeded Comets (15-6) held on for a 25-14, 25-21, 20-25, 17-25, 15-10 victory in Central Point to earn their third consecutive trip to Forest Grove, where they’ll face Bend in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Alex Gugliotta led Crater with 14 kills, four digs and three blocks, and coach Tiffany Booth credited her with “leading the team in both kills and energy. She was positive with her teammates, pushing them past their doubts, and was a huge threat for us in the front row.”

Callie Aplin had a solid all-around match with 10 kills, 14 digs and three blocks, and Kendall Stidham dished out 45 assists. Addison Benson added 11 kills and four digs, and Lanie Snow had eight kills and six blocks.

Wilsonville 3, Silverton 1

The Wildcats (21-4) will make their sixth consecutive trip to the quarterfinals after rallying from dropping the opening set to defeat the visiting Foxes, 25-27, 25-16, 25-22, 27-25.

Wilsonville coach Scott Thompson praised senior setter Ellis Underhill for “making great decisions all match” and called her and right-side hitter Lana Gillas difference-makers throughout the afternoon.

Wilsonville will play Churchill (18-4) in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Corvallis 3, Centennial 1

The Spartans (15-6) went on the road and defeated the Eagles 25-15, 25-23, 22-25, 25-18 to earn a rematch with Mid-Willamette Conference rival and top seed South Albany (24-0) in Friday’s quarterfinals. 

Malique Sweet led Corvallis with 19 kills, Alexa Schnell added 16 kills and 12 digs, Naiya Whitinger had 20 digs, and Daisy Collins had 12 digs to go with a key serving run in the fourth set to help the Spartans erase an early 9-3 deficit.

“Our team executed the adjustments made to slow down their middle hitter, which allowed us to come out with the victory,” Corvallis coach Kari Morrow said.

CLASS 4A

Marist Catholic 3, Klamath Union 0

Marist Catholic swept Klamath Union 25-3, 25-15, 25-14 in Eugene to continue defense of its 4A state championship behind Giana Elgarico’s 11 kills. Avy Roundy and Lauren Rohman added seven apiece, with hitting over .300 for the match.

Kimmy Spurlock had five kills and a 12-point service run that helped set the tone for the Spartans (18-3), who will take on Henley (17-3) in Friday’s quarterfinals at North Bend High School.

Marshfield 3, La Grande 1

Tatum Montiel had 20 kills, 27 digs and two blocks, and Ava Ainsworth finished with 43 assists as the Pirates (22-2) rebounded after dropping the third set to defeat the visiting Tigers, 25-15, 25-18, 28-30, 25-11.

The top seeds will make the short bus ride from Coos Bay to North Bend High School looking to avenge their loss to Marist Catholic in last year’s final and recapture the title they won two years ago. They’ll face 2021 champion Cascade in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Marshfield coach Tammie Montiel commended Mackenzie Fitzgerald Thornton for having “her best attacking performance of the season” with eight kills and called the match “a very balanced team effort. After falling in the third set, the team came out fired up in the fourth to take a commanding early lead and rolled to the victory.”

Cascade 3, Astoria 2

The Cougars (13-7) traveled to the North Oregon coast and pulled out a five-set victory over the Fishermen, 21-25, 25-20, 25-19, 24-26, 15-10, to earn a fourth consecutive quarterfinals berth.

“It was an intense battle with an impressive Astoria team,” Cascade coach Cristina Williams said. “The girls never gave up, and it was a team effort.”

Eastern Oregon will be well-represented in the other two quarterfinal matches, with Pendleton taking on Stayton and Crook County meeting The Dalles.

CLASS 3A

There will be a new champion in 3A after top seed Pleasant Hill avenged its loss to Sisters in last year’s state final, defeating the Outlaws in three sets in the second round. 

Joining the Billies at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay next weekend will be Westside Christian, Burns, Dayton, Corbett, Santiam Christian, Coquille and Valley Catholic.

CLASS 2A

Defending champion Portland Christian will arrive at Redmond’s Ridgeview High School for next weekend’s quarterfinals as the No. 6 seed after sweeping Monroe in their first-round match in Northeast Portland. 

Three road teams pulled out victories in Round 1 — Clatskanie, Heppner and Weston-McEwen — to join top seed Crosshill Christian, Stanfield, Western Christian and Salem Academy in the quarterfinals.

CLASS 1A

Top seed Crane kept its defense of the state title rolling with a three-set victory over South Wasco County to advance to next week’s quarterfinals at Ridgeview High School. 

The Mustangs will face Central Christian in the quarterfinals, with St. Paul, Imbler, North Lake, Union, Powder Valley and Umpqua Valley Christian also advancing.

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