Varsity 541

Cavers outduel Comets in SOH opener

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GRANTS PASS — It was anyone's match at Grants Pass High School as the Grants Pass and Crater volleyball teams wound up duking it out in a battle of endurance.

The Cavers, however, were the victors, snaring the Southern Oregon Hybrid win from the much-improved Comets on Thursday, 21-25, 27-25, 25-23, 23-25, 16-14.

"It was a very long match," said Grants Pass coach Cammy Dranginis. "Both teams were neck-and-neck in that fifth game. It pretty much came down to who could make the least amount of errors.

"Crater is a lot better than they were last year. Their defense was a lot better and they had a lot more confidence. They were definitely a tough opponent for us."

For the Cavers (1-1, 1-0 SOH), senior outside hitter Sadi Zozaya had 10 kills, junior middle hitter Emily Henderson nine and senior outside hitter Rashelle DeBolt eight.

Cavers setter Tiffany Barrett accumulated 32 assists, and in her first action at libero, junior Claire Pflieger racked up 31 digs.

Comets senior outside hitter Katie Britton tallied 14 kills and six aces and Crater (2-3, 0-1 SOH) received a spark from freshman outside hitter Destiny Saughan with 12 kills.

ROSEBURG 3, EAGLE POINT 0 — At Roseburg, Eagle Point was overmatched in its season debut as Roseburg triumphed, 25-12, 25-12, 25-12.

Junior libero Kelly Brawner paced the Eagles with 14 digs.

For the Indians (2-0), outside hitter Anna Bruns had 13 kills and setter Vanessa Bentley racked up 29 assists.

CASCADE CHRISTIAN 3, HENLEY 0 — Karlee Britton turned in 14 kills and Elise Gardner recorded seven kills and seven aces for Cascade Christian in a 25-20, 25-23, 25-15 nonleague win over Class 4A Henley.

Mackenzie Kelton had seven kills and Kayla Winter added 25 assists and five aces for the Challengers (1-1).

MYRTLE POINT 3, ST. MARY'S 0 — At Myrtle Point, communication and passing were problematic for St. Mary's as Myrtle Point captured a nonconference win, 25-15, 25-16, 25-19.

Outside hitter Nina Console had eight kills for the Crusaders (1-2), who received 10 assists from setter Maddy Gregg.

• SOUTH UMPQUA 3, ROGUE RIVER 0 — At Myrtle Creek, the first two games were tied at 20-all, but Rogue River (0-5) couldn't avoid getting sweep by South Umpqua, 25-21, 25-20, 25-12.
• NORTH VALLEY 3, ILLINOIS VALLEY 0 — At Cave Junction, setter Abby Miller and middle blocker Alex LaSlamme both played well for Illinois Valley, but the Cougars fell short, 25-10, 25-20, 25-20, in the nonconference tilt.

Illinois Valley was playing its season opener, while North Valley improved to 1-1 following Tuesday's loss to South Umpqua.