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Trojans nab No. 2 seed for playoffs
By John Gunther, Sports Editor
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 | No comments posted.
COQUILLE — North Bend and Douglas needed five sets Monday night to break their tie for the Far West League’s No. 2 seed in volleyball.
When the final ball hit the floor at Coquille High School, the Trojans had earned the No. 2 seed for the playoffs with a 16-25, 25-23, 25-21, 13-25, 15-9 victory.
Douglas will travel to La Grande on Saturday to play for a spot in the Class 4A state tournament. North Bend must win two matches to get to the final site at Eugene, starting with a trip to Phoenix for a 6 p.m. match on Wednesday. The winner of that first-round match travels to top-ranked Sisters on Saturday.
North Bend senior Jodi Smartt was confident her team could bounce back from Monday’s tough loss.
“I’m bummed, but we’ll come back strong,” Smartt said.
North Bend started Monday’s match well, dominating the first game behind the hitting of Alexandra Mateski and Haley Dunham, who combined for 15 kills in the game — 10 by Dunham.
Douglas surged to a 10-2 lead in the second game, and led 12-6 when Smartt had a stuff block that put Camille Deming on the serving line. The North Bend sophomore reeled off 10 straight points to put the Bulldogs in front, but Douglas came back, scoring the final four points and ultimately winning the game when Stacia Blankenship smashed a kill off two North Bend blockers.
“That was the turning point,” said North Bend coach Les Willett. “To lose a close one like that — they always come back to haunt you.”
The Trojans took a lead midway through the third game on a kill by Courtney Bush and back-to-back aces by Jessica Case and led the rest of the way.
North Bend forced the fifth game by dominating the fourth set. Deming had eight straight service points to give the Bulldogs a 14-7 lead, and Shelbey Cook added five more service points. Smartt and Mateski combined for nine kills in the game.
The Bulldogs led early in the fifth game, but Douglas pulled away for the win behind kills from Taylor Bond and Courtney Bush and a few North Bend errors.
After the match, Douglas coach Carl Bone said he was pleased with his team’s effort, but added the Trojans will have to play better to win at La Grande, the champion of the Greater Oregon League.
“We struggled at times tonight,” he said. “We’ve got to eliminate the bad spurts. We have to settle down and play without making so many errors.
“We can’t do that against good teams.”
North Bend forced the tie for second by winning at Douglas last week in another five-game match.
“We felt like we should have won last week,” Bone said, explaining that the Trojans struggled in that match after blowing a late lead in the opening game.
He gave North Bend credit for putting up a good fight Monday.
“North Bend can play some defense,” he said. “We had some long rallies. They just kept it off the floor.”
Both teams posted strong defensive statistics, as they battled back and forth.
“I like playing them,” Bone said of the Bulldogs. “I think it brings out the best in us.”
The best of what Douglas did was show resilience Monday.
“I’m proud of the girls,” Bone said. “They don’t quit. They keep working hard.”
Blankenship led the Douglas offensive attack with 17 kills Monday. Bush added 12 kills and 20 digs, while Rachel Erickson added six kills and Bond had four kills and three stuff blocks. Setter Alaina Findlay had 26 assists and five kills, and Kenzie Dahl had three aces and 19 digs.
Dunham finished with 19 kills and 17 digs for North Bend, while Mateski had 18 kills and 27 digs. Libero Ashley Horlacher had 20 digs and setter Katie Banta had 27 digs and 43 assists. Smartt finished with nine kills and eight blocks.
Willett said the biggest problem for the Bulldogs was in passing, which cost the team a chance to set up its offense.
“We didn’t serve-receive well,” he said.
North Bend will look to bounce back with an all-around team effort against Phoenix, which beat North Valley in the Skyline League playoffs on Monday.
“Tomorrow’s another day,” Willett said. “We’ll have a good practice.”
Being in the playoffs is a big improvement from last year, when the Bulldogs just missed out.
“Our team came back really strong this year,” Smartt said, adding that the team’s close nature has made a big difference in the successful season.
“We have such good team chemistry.”
Siuslaw, the Far West League champion, has a first-round bye Wednesday and hosts Marist on Saturday for a spot in the tournament.
Admission for the games Wednesday and Saturday is $6 for adults and $4 for students.
Sunset playoffs
Meanwhile, a closer inspection of the league rules for the Sunset Conference shows that the winner of tonight’s game between Myrtle Point and host Gold Beach will get a shot at second-place Coquille on Wednesday to determine the league’s No. 2 and No. 3 seeds for the playoffs.
The loser of tonight’s match is out of the postseason.
Admission for league playoff matches is $4 for adults and $3 for students.
When the final ball hit the floor at Coquille High School, the Trojans had earned the No. 2 seed for the playoffs with a 16-25, 25-23, 25-21, 13-25, 15-9 victory.
Douglas will travel to La Grande on Saturday to play for a spot in the Class 4A state tournament. North Bend must win two matches to get to the final site at Eugene, starting with a trip to Phoenix for a 6 p.m. match on Wednesday. The winner of that first-round match travels to top-ranked Sisters on Saturday.
North Bend senior Jodi Smartt was confident her team could bounce back from Monday’s tough loss.
“I’m bummed, but we’ll come back strong,” Smartt said.
North Bend started Monday’s match well, dominating the first game behind the hitting of Alexandra Mateski and Haley Dunham, who combined for 15 kills in the game — 10 by Dunham.
Douglas surged to a 10-2 lead in the second game, and led 12-6 when Smartt had a stuff block that put Camille Deming on the serving line. The North Bend sophomore reeled off 10 straight points to put the Bulldogs in front, but Douglas came back, scoring the final four points and ultimately winning the game when Stacia Blankenship smashed a kill off two North Bend blockers.
“That was the turning point,” said North Bend coach Les Willett. “To lose a close one like that — they always come back to haunt you.”
The Trojans took a lead midway through the third game on a kill by Courtney Bush and back-to-back aces by Jessica Case and led the rest of the way.
North Bend forced the fifth game by dominating the fourth set. Deming had eight straight service points to give the Bulldogs a 14-7 lead, and Shelbey Cook added five more service points. Smartt and Mateski combined for nine kills in the game.
The Bulldogs led early in the fifth game, but Douglas pulled away for the win behind kills from Taylor Bond and Courtney Bush and a few North Bend errors.
After the match, Douglas coach Carl Bone said he was pleased with his team’s effort, but added the Trojans will have to play better to win at La Grande, the champion of the Greater Oregon League.
“We struggled at times tonight,” he said. “We’ve got to eliminate the bad spurts. We have to settle down and play without making so many errors.
“We can’t do that against good teams.”
North Bend forced the tie for second by winning at Douglas last week in another five-game match.
“We felt like we should have won last week,” Bone said, explaining that the Trojans struggled in that match after blowing a late lead in the opening game.
He gave North Bend credit for putting up a good fight Monday.
“North Bend can play some defense,” he said. “We had some long rallies. They just kept it off the floor.”
Both teams posted strong defensive statistics, as they battled back and forth.
“I like playing them,” Bone said of the Bulldogs. “I think it brings out the best in us.”
The best of what Douglas did was show resilience Monday.
“I’m proud of the girls,” Bone said. “They don’t quit. They keep working hard.”
Blankenship led the Douglas offensive attack with 17 kills Monday. Bush added 12 kills and 20 digs, while Rachel Erickson added six kills and Bond had four kills and three stuff blocks. Setter Alaina Findlay had 26 assists and five kills, and Kenzie Dahl had three aces and 19 digs.
Dunham finished with 19 kills and 17 digs for North Bend, while Mateski had 18 kills and 27 digs. Libero Ashley Horlacher had 20 digs and setter Katie Banta had 27 digs and 43 assists. Smartt finished with nine kills and eight blocks.
Willett said the biggest problem for the Bulldogs was in passing, which cost the team a chance to set up its offense.
“We didn’t serve-receive well,” he said.
North Bend will look to bounce back with an all-around team effort against Phoenix, which beat North Valley in the Skyline League playoffs on Monday.
“Tomorrow’s another day,” Willett said. “We’ll have a good practice.”
Being in the playoffs is a big improvement from last year, when the Bulldogs just missed out.
“Our team came back really strong this year,” Smartt said, adding that the team’s close nature has made a big difference in the successful season.
“We have such good team chemistry.”
Siuslaw, the Far West League champion, has a first-round bye Wednesday and hosts Marist on Saturday for a spot in the tournament.
Admission for the games Wednesday and Saturday is $6 for adults and $4 for students.
Sunset playoffs
Meanwhile, a closer inspection of the league rules for the Sunset Conference shows that the winner of tonight’s game between Myrtle Point and host Gold Beach will get a shot at second-place Coquille on Wednesday to determine the league’s No. 2 and No. 3 seeds for the playoffs.
The loser of tonight’s match is out of the postseason.
Admission for league playoff matches is $4 for adults and $3 for students.
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