Marshfield’s volleyball team saw its season end at the hands of a powerful visiting Mountain View team Saturday afternoon in the Class 5A playoffs.

The Pirates had their chances against the No. 4 team in the state — the Cougars were the third-best team in the ridiculously tough Intermountain Conference, behind No. 1 Crook County and No. 3 Pendleton — but couldn’t finish games, as Mountain View won in straight sets 25-21, 25-19, 25-19.

“We’d have our streaks,” said Marshfield libero Brittney Young. “When they scored a few points, we seemed to get down.”

The Pirates built solid leads in the first and third games, only to have the Cougars come roaring back with a punishing front line capable both of picking apart Marshfield’s defense and blocking the Pirates’ offensive attempts.

“This felt so good. Today we were working our butts off and getting everything up,” said Mountain View outside hitter Shelby Hollister. “Now we have three more matches to the state championship.”

Marshfield fell behind 7-2 in the hard-fought first game, but tied the game at 9-9 on a kill from Jessica Hockema, during a string of four service points from Brittney Morris that included a spectacular blast from Natalie Caffey after Nikki Gross gave a no-look set over the back of her head. From there, the Pirates went up 17-13 on a kill from Kara Young, eventually battling to a 21-17 lead as Brittney Young saved several points on digs.

The Cougars turned it on from there, though, as Karlee Markham reeled off eight straight service points, Sara Steria had a kill, Angi Natalie tallied a stuff block and Marshfield struggled to keep the ball in bounds in the 25-21 loss. 

“We just didn’t have that sense of urgency,” said Pirates coach Tammie Montiel. “Once you get that lead, you’ve got to step on them.”

Mountain View was most deadly at the net. In a dominant second game in which the Cougars never trailed, Mountain View took over up front. Marshfield had trouble getting the ball past middle blockers Natalie and Shelby Broberg and into the back defense of the Cougars, which was vulnerable. And Mountain View recorded kill after kill as setter Kim Sustare served up the ball.

“Their outside hitters on film looked good. In person they looked even more powerful,” said Montiel. “That was a tough team.”

The Pirates battled hard in the second game, pulling even at 6-all and then scratching their way to within 15-13 on an ace from Kara Young. Marshfield would get no closer, however, as Mountain View took the game 25-19.

The third game was close all the way, as the Pirates again built a lead, going up 14-10 on a string of three service points from Kara Young. A series of bad touches from Marshfield tied the game at 15-15, though. Then the Cougars answered a Morris stuff block with a rattling kill from Steria to tie the game at 16-16, and pulled ahead the rest of the way. Hollister had three kills in the Cougars’ final five points as Mountain View won the third game 25-19 to take the match.

“They’re a really good team,” said Hockema after the match. “They deserve it, but we both played really hard today.”

Cougars coach Mallory Larranga said the Pirates put up the kind of fight she was expecting, playing the Midwestern League champions on the road.

“We never look past a team. Marshfield gave us a run for our money. They have some great athletes, and they made us work hard,” said Larranga.

Mountain View now moves on to play Crescent Valley on Friday in the tournament quarterfinals at Liberty High School in Hillsboro.

Caffey had seven kills for Marshfield, while Hockema added six kills and two aces. Brittney Young had 11 digs and two aces, while Gross chipped in with 14 assists.

For Mountain View, Hollister led the team with 11 kills and Steria added 10 kills. Natalie had a big night at the net with nine blocks, while Sustare racked up 38 assists.

For Marshfield, the loss was the end of an improbable Midwestern championship season, as the squad battled injuries and lineup changes all year. The Pirates had earned a No. 1 seed to the state tournament, and to draw a team ranked higher than them in the state polls — Marshfield was a tie for No. 10 in the final coaches poll — was a tough break.

Brittney Young said she was proud of how the team competed in its last match of the season, though, and the last match as a Pirate for her and fellow seniors Hockema and Caffey.

“We have nothing to hang our heads about today,” said Brittney Young. “We made it this far.”

Montiel added she thought the team played admirably this season, going 9-1 in league play, often playing without one or more key players due to injuries.

“Who would’ve thought, after the injuries and everything else, we would have been Midwestern League champions?” she said.

Notes: Midwestern League runner-up Thurston earned a spot in the tournament by beating Eagle Point, 25-18, 25-19, 25-17. The Intermountain Conference put three teams in the tournament. No. 7 Summit beat Silverton on Saturday and top-ranked Crook County swept Crater. But No. 3 Pendleton lost at No. 2 Ashland in four games.