By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
DAYTON, Ore.– The Willamina Volleyball team came out strongly in set 3 against Dayton on Monday night to open up West Valley League action.
After falling in the first two sets 25-10, 25-10, the Bulldogs were hanging with the Pirates. At one point in the set, Willamina were tied with Dayton at nine-all. They picked up the energy and were able to sustain it against one of 3A’s best.
“We were pushing through the little mistakes and doing well on our side defensively. Keeping our energy up has been a really big key for us this season, throughout the whole game. When we do that, we play better as a team. We’re growing and competing as a team,” said the Bulldogs Grace Terbush.
Dayton started to pull away, building an 14-10 lead before Willamina cut it to 15-12 moments later. The momentum was there for the Pirates however, as they closed out the set 25-15 to complete the sweep.
After their defeat to 4A Cascade to open the season at the Cascade Christian Tournament in Medford, the Pirates have wheeled off six-straight victories. Dayton hasn’t dropped a set over those six games.
“That Cascade (Christian) tournament was a really good tournament. There’s a lot of good teams and I think that really set the tone for our season,” said Dayton’s Gabby Chupp. “There’s a lot of good teams that we played and we had a lot of good match-ups. We all really came out to feel for our team and stuff. I think we did good and I think it set us up good for our season.
The Pirates will host Amity on Wednesday while Willamina will head to play in the North Marion Tournament this weekend.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
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