By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
TURNER, Ore.– The Stayton Volleyball team filled in in the Cascade Crossover on Saturday as they played Cascade, in a non-league game, and North Bend to officially kick off the season.
In their first game of the season, to kick off the Crossover Saturday morning against the Cougars, Cascade, taking the match 25-23, 25-16, 25-19, showed flashes of their potential against their rival. In the third set, after suffering a tough defeat after pushing the envelope in the opening set, the Eagles rallied.
Down 16-10, Stayton went on a 6-2 run to get themselves back into contention before the Cougars shut the door to end the match in three sets and not let go beyond that.
“Every point is important, and our team does a really good job in carrying over massive kills, big blocks, or just small tips. We just do a great job cheering over everything, small or big, so I think that keeps our momentum going,” said Zuri Anderson. “Our team is super young, and it’s our first time playing together. Today was a good way of building community together and knowing how everyone plays. So I think we did a really good job. Even though we didn’t end up with the win, we did improve in a lot of ways in our first game.”
Anderson, Kathryn, and Kourtney Samek and Erin Stutrud return from last year’s 4A Fifth-Place team. Alyssa Schotthoefer and Molli Emmert were swing players for Stayton last Fall and will be looking to contribute this season as the Eagles will have a new look, but the same goals of making a run at it later this year with conference and State.
For the four returning, Stayton Head Coach Ruth Daniels will be looking to them to lead the squad, being the athlete’s with the most Varsity experience coming back.
“Its going to be a really neat opportunity for them because a lot of people don’t get to step up as captains as Juniors, and they get that opportunity. I know they’ve been enjoying setting the tone for the season and helping lead the team in the way that they want,” said Daniels.
“It’s a big deal because our team is so young, and I think our leadership as older players need to help everyone,” adds Anderson.
The Eagles closed out the Cascade Crossover with North Bend, picking up their first victory of the season on four sets, 18-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-18 and will host Cottage Grove on Tuesday and Junction City Thursday for their first slate of home games this season. Stayton heads back to Cascade on September 6 to take part in the annual-Cascade Volleyball Tournament.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
