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Bobcats to play for third
By John Gunther, Sports Editor
Saturday, November 11, 2006 | No comments posted.
EUGENE - For Myrtle Point, the fifth time was the charm.
After finishing out of the running their first four trips to the Class 2A state tournament, the Bobcats will win a state volleyball trophy for the first time in two decades.
Unfortunately, the best the Bobcats can do is third place after Myrtle Point fell to Gervais in the semifinals on Friday night at Lane Community College.
Myrtle Point beat Vale 25-19, 25-20, 25-23 in the quarterfinals on Friday before losing to Gervais 25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 25-22.
The Bobcats will win their first state trophy since taking third in 1985.
They earned that honor with a balanced team effort against Vale Friday morning.
“We did excellent,” said Myrtle Point setter Kayla Hixson. “Everyone is so good. There's not like one person. We all contributed.”
Indeed, five people had at least three kills in the win as the Bobcats played well on both offense and defense.
“We played pretty awesome,” said Marley Kennedy, who had a match-high 12 kills for the Bobcats. “Our back row - they were all over the place.”
Myrtle Point attacked the Vikings with powerful hitting by Kennedy, Ashley Duey and Danielle Barnett and also by crafty placement of hits and tips.
“I think we played really smart,” said Hixson, who finished with 22 assists, seven kills, five digs and two stuff blocks.
Hixson had the match winner on one of those well-place hits, a soft spike from the back row to an opening in Vale's defense on match point.
That hit, among many highlights, stood out to Myrtle Point coach Melanie Little as a sample of how well her team played.
“On game point, she goes for the jugular,” Little said. “She knew it was there and she went for it.”
The kill ended a late Vale rally after Myrtle Point had pulled away to a 23-17 lead on the Vikings in the final game.
The surge was sudden, turning a close game into a comfortable advantage.
Vale led 7-6 when Kennedy had a kill and Hixson followed with a stuff block. After a Myrtle Point error, Duey and Kennedy had back-to-back kills and Hixson followed a hitting error by Vale with one of her well-placed quick hits to the back row. The Bobcats had turned the deficit into a 12-8 lead.
Vale's Jordan Skerjanec had a kill, but that only briefly paused Myrtle Point's run. Kennedy blasted a kill down the line, Allison Sackett added an ace and Maria Ciccarelli had a kill to put the Bobcats up 15-9 and force a Vale timeout.
The Bobcats never let the Vikings pull close again until a 6-1 run by Vale late in the match. Even then, the Bobcats didn't panic and Hixson took a pass from Katie Little and placed it perfectly for the match winner.
“I was thrilled with the way we played,” said Melanie Little. “We didn't succumb to pressure. We never panicked.”
Myrtle Point led nearly the entire way in the first game. Kennedy, who had five kills in the game, finished it off with a blast off a Vale blocker and out of bounds.
The Vikings stuck around in the second game for a while, before Myrtle Point pulled ahead, eventually winning when Vale's Luci DeLong was called for being in the net on an apparent kill on game point. DeLong led the Vikings with 10 kills, but Myrtle Point tipped or dug most of the attacks by the Vikings.
Sackett, Myrtle Point's libero, finished with eight digs and two aces, while Barnett had six digs to go along with five kills and two aces. Duey had seven kills, eight digs and two aces. Katie Little and Krissy Johnston each had three kills. Sam Sanders was solid in the back row and as a team the Bobcats put 73 of their 76 serves in play, amazingly an average performance for the squad.
Winning in three games was important, Hixson said.
“Obviously, we wanted to make a statement,” she said. “It sets our tempo. It just gets you pumped up to win in three.”
In the night match, Myrtle Point lost a close struggle.
“It was tough,” Melanie Little said. “I knew Gervais would be tough to get by.”
The Bobcats couldn't stop Gervais star Emily O'Neal, but Little was pleased with her team's effort.
“We played a good match,” she said. “The girls fought hard and they didn't give up. I'm happy.”
Hixson had 29 assists, 10 digs and two blocks in the defeat. Duey had 14 kills, five blocks and 12 digs; Barnett had five kills and three blocks and was 17-for-17 from the service line, including 13 points; and Kennedy had 11 kills.”
In the other semifinal on Friday, Burns beat Oregon Episcopal, the defending Class 2A champion, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-18.
The Bobcats meet OES at noon in what should be another good match.
“You're with the best of the best right now,” Little said. “There are no easy games. There shouldn't be.”
After finishing out of the running their first four trips to the Class 2A state tournament, the Bobcats will win a state volleyball trophy for the first time in two decades.
Unfortunately, the best the Bobcats can do is third place after Myrtle Point fell to Gervais in the semifinals on Friday night at Lane Community College.
Myrtle Point beat Vale 25-19, 25-20, 25-23 in the quarterfinals on Friday before losing to Gervais 25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 25-22.
The Bobcats will win their first state trophy since taking third in 1985.
They earned that honor with a balanced team effort against Vale Friday morning.
“We did excellent,” said Myrtle Point setter Kayla Hixson. “Everyone is so good. There's not like one person. We all contributed.”
Indeed, five people had at least three kills in the win as the Bobcats played well on both offense and defense.
“We played pretty awesome,” said Marley Kennedy, who had a match-high 12 kills for the Bobcats. “Our back row - they were all over the place.”
Myrtle Point attacked the Vikings with powerful hitting by Kennedy, Ashley Duey and Danielle Barnett and also by crafty placement of hits and tips.
“I think we played really smart,” said Hixson, who finished with 22 assists, seven kills, five digs and two stuff blocks.
Hixson had the match winner on one of those well-place hits, a soft spike from the back row to an opening in Vale's defense on match point.
That hit, among many highlights, stood out to Myrtle Point coach Melanie Little as a sample of how well her team played.
“On game point, she goes for the jugular,” Little said. “She knew it was there and she went for it.”
The kill ended a late Vale rally after Myrtle Point had pulled away to a 23-17 lead on the Vikings in the final game.
The surge was sudden, turning a close game into a comfortable advantage.
Vale led 7-6 when Kennedy had a kill and Hixson followed with a stuff block. After a Myrtle Point error, Duey and Kennedy had back-to-back kills and Hixson followed a hitting error by Vale with one of her well-placed quick hits to the back row. The Bobcats had turned the deficit into a 12-8 lead.
Vale's Jordan Skerjanec had a kill, but that only briefly paused Myrtle Point's run. Kennedy blasted a kill down the line, Allison Sackett added an ace and Maria Ciccarelli had a kill to put the Bobcats up 15-9 and force a Vale timeout.
The Bobcats never let the Vikings pull close again until a 6-1 run by Vale late in the match. Even then, the Bobcats didn't panic and Hixson took a pass from Katie Little and placed it perfectly for the match winner.
“I was thrilled with the way we played,” said Melanie Little. “We didn't succumb to pressure. We never panicked.”
Myrtle Point led nearly the entire way in the first game. Kennedy, who had five kills in the game, finished it off with a blast off a Vale blocker and out of bounds.
The Vikings stuck around in the second game for a while, before Myrtle Point pulled ahead, eventually winning when Vale's Luci DeLong was called for being in the net on an apparent kill on game point. DeLong led the Vikings with 10 kills, but Myrtle Point tipped or dug most of the attacks by the Vikings.
Sackett, Myrtle Point's libero, finished with eight digs and two aces, while Barnett had six digs to go along with five kills and two aces. Duey had seven kills, eight digs and two aces. Katie Little and Krissy Johnston each had three kills. Sam Sanders was solid in the back row and as a team the Bobcats put 73 of their 76 serves in play, amazingly an average performance for the squad.
Winning in three games was important, Hixson said.
“Obviously, we wanted to make a statement,” she said. “It sets our tempo. It just gets you pumped up to win in three.”
In the night match, Myrtle Point lost a close struggle.
“It was tough,” Melanie Little said. “I knew Gervais would be tough to get by.”
The Bobcats couldn't stop Gervais star Emily O'Neal, but Little was pleased with her team's effort.
“We played a good match,” she said. “The girls fought hard and they didn't give up. I'm happy.”
Hixson had 29 assists, 10 digs and two blocks in the defeat. Duey had 14 kills, five blocks and 12 digs; Barnett had five kills and three blocks and was 17-for-17 from the service line, including 13 points; and Kennedy had 11 kills.”
In the other semifinal on Friday, Burns beat Oregon Episcopal, the defending Class 2A champion, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-18.
The Bobcats meet OES at noon in what should be another good match.
“You're with the best of the best right now,” Little said. “There are no easy games. There shouldn't be.”
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