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BEND — Knowing how tough the competition will be in the Southwest Conference this season, South Medford volleyball coach Robin Akpan was pleased with what she saw from her team against some quality opponents at the Mountain View Invitational on Friday.
The Panthers went 2-1 with wins over Thurston (22-25, 25-10, 15-9) and Caldera (25-15, 25-16) to finish ahead of Sisters (25-22). , 25-20) at Mountain View High School.
“We are off to a good start for the season,” Akpan said. “I think starting 2-1 at such a high level of competition, I’m surprised where we started.”
In three matches, senior outside hitter Katie Clevenger has posted 28 kills. Her best effort came in the Class 5A opener against Thurston, recording 12 kills and four aces. Fellow senior Cameron Christian added 16 digs and three aces, but her six-point run at the service line in the second set helped shift the momentum permanently in the Panthers’ favor.
“I think he had some nerves at the gate that first set against Thurston, but we really got after him after they got through,” Akpan said. “It was fun to see the girls settle into a routine. I thought we had good possession and defense.
Lola Horton also came up with five blocks, while setter Bailey Davis contributed 17 digs.
Against Caldera, Clevenger had eight kills and 11 digs, and Davis was huge with 18 digs to go along with three aces. Freshman midfielders Mayen Akpan had three kills and two blocks, while Naomi Johnson had four kills.
The Panthers came up just shy in their final match of the night, which was a tough challenge against the Sisters. Clevenger finished with eight kills and eight digs, Davis dished out 20 assists, Mayen Akpan went for five kills and three blocks, Johnson chipped in with three kills and three aces, Horton added two blocks and a pair of kills.
“Clevenger was on fire and our setter (Davis) got all our shooters and our last game of the day was a challenge for us,” coach Akpan said. “Sisters are a strong team and it gave us something to work for when we went home. They had a couple of hard balls and we had to adjust them and it was a little too late to adjust. But we will see them again and we will know what to do.
South Salem 3, North Medford 2: North Medford had eighth-ranked South Salem on the ropes, but the Black Tornadoes couldn’t close out the Saxons in a five-set thriller, 25-23, 17-25, 25-23, 25-27, 10-15. at North Medford High.
North (1-1), coming off a season-opening win over Ashland, outscored South Salem (1-0) 24-20 in the fourth set before the Saxons – who made the Class 6A quarterfinals last season – were able to rally and take the final two sets.
Tornado senior Maddie Blake finished with 20 assists, while Olivia Steubenrauch and freshman Christina Antonio both had nine kills. Senior libero Amy Cloke recorded 26 digs and Ria Antonio added a team-high three aces for North.
North’s second-half midfielder Nana Silafau had a big game defensively, recording 7 1/2 blocks.
Crater wins a pair. In Bend, Crater bounced back from a season-opening loss to No. 4 Sheldon to pick up a pair of wins over Burns and host Mountain View to finish 2-1 at the Mountain View Invitational.
The Comets (2-1), ranked ninth in the Class 5A preseason coaches polls, played the Irish tough before falling in straight sets, 25-23, 25-9, then rallied to beat the Cougars 23-25, 25-19. 15-12 and the Class 3A Highlanders 25-23, 25-21.
Senior outside hitter Kendra Bittle led the Comets in all three matches and finished with 28 on the day. Outside hitter Maddie Concina added 11 kills, while senior setter Kate Stidham had 47 assists in the three matches.
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