HERMISTON — The Hermiston Bulldogs varsity volleyball team (1-3) were unable to fend off the Chiawana Riverhawks (2-2) Tuesday night, Sept. 14, losing by the fourth set, 3-1.

After Chiawana was able to win the first set (25-7), the Bulldogs were able to secure the second set (25-17). The Riverhawks were able to rally to victory winning the third (25-17) and the fourth set (25-14).

Though in defeat, Bulldogs head coach Megan Bunn was proud of her team’s efforts, especially in their second set.

“The girls were playing amazing, I was proud of their grit after that (second) set,” Bunn said.

The Hermiston Bulldogs are set to take part in the Sundome Volleyball festival Sept. 18.

Grant Union Prospectors sweep Heppner-Mustangs

HEPPNER — The Heppner Mustangs Varsity volleyball team (3-5) were unable to defend their home court, as the Grant Union Prospectors (5-2) won in three consecutive sets (25-21, 25-16 and 25-17).

The Mustangs had strong performances from the likes of senior Zabrena Masterson (9 digs, 4 blocks, 6 kills), sophomore Zandra Masterson (10 digs, six assists, two aces), junior Daralynn Teeman (six digs, three assists), junior Hailey Wenberg (11 Digs) and freshman Katie Spivey (six digs).

Mustangs head coach Mindy Wilson was proud to see her girls fight hard tonight.

“We played hard tonight. We may not have got the win, but you can see the improvement in the young team,” Wilson said.

The Heppner Mustangs are set to be back on their home court Sept. 23 as they host the Pilot Rock Rockets (1-7), tipoff is at 6 p.m. And the Grant Union Prospectors are taking part Sept. 17 in a two-day event of taking on the Powder Valley Badgers (8-3), game one starting at 9 a.m.

Tigerscots snuff out the Rockets

ATHENA — The Weston-McEwen Tigerscots (7-3 were able to secure their seventh victory in this varsity volleyball match, defeating the Pilot Rock Rockets (1-7) on their home court.

Tigerscots won in three consecutive sets, 25-16, 25 -22, 25-9

The Tigerscot’s were led by the likes of Senior Charli King (15-16 serving with 3 aces, 11 digs and 12 assists), Sophomore Addie Perkins 12 – 12 serving with 1 ace, 8 digs, 5 kills and 8 assists) and Junior Genevieve Robinson (13 kills and a block and eight digs.).

Tigerscot’s head coach Shawn White was proud of his team working with only seven players tonight.

“Very proud of how we worked together on the floor to help each other out tonight. We were short-handed and players had to step up and play positions they have never played before. Our best team effort of the year,” White said.

The Rockets were led by three seniors, Jade Atkins (8/9 serving, nine tips, 15 assists, four digs), Madyson Moffit (9/12 servin, two blocks, eight digs, 9/12 hitting with two kills and five tips) and MacKenzie Bennett (13/18 hitting with five kills and eight digs.).

Rocket’s head coach Danielle Balazenta felt the team couldn’t maintain any momentum.

“Unfortunately we weren’t able to complete what we started,” Balazenta said.

The Pilot Rock Rockets are set to travel on the road to take on the Heppner Mustangs on Sept. 23, tipoff is at 6 p.m.

The Weston-McEwen Tigerscots are set to host the Walla Walla Valley Academy pm Sept. 20, tipoff is at 4 p.m.

Stanfield defeats Union in straight sets

STANFIELD — The Stanfield Tigers (10-2) broke into double digits with victories Sept. 16, as they were able to defeat the Union Bobcats (5-6) in three consecutive sets in this varsity volleyball match (25-18, 25-14 and 25-13).

The Tigers were led by Seniors Alexis Shelby (six kills, four blocks, 21 digs, two aces), Jennifer Flores (13 digs and three aces), Katelyn Griffin (six kills and 14 assists) and Junior Zuri Reeser (14 kills, six digs, 12 assists and three aces.)

Tigers head coach Blaine Ganova said the biggest focus during the match was maintaining communication.

“We did a great job of increasing our on court talk, our team goal for tonight, and we were able to do just that and came away with pretty positive results,” Genova said.

The Tigers are next set to be back on the road to take on the Enterprise Outlaws (7-2) on Sept. 23. The game is set to begin at 5 p.m.

Knights slay the Pirates, 3-1

IRRIGON — The Irrigon Knights Varsity volleyball team (2-5) were able to take down the Riverside Pirates (1-6) in four sets Sept. 16.

The Knights were able to win the first two sets (25-15 and 25-14), but the Pirates were able to come back to win the third set (25-23). The Knights then were finally able to win the match after the fourth set, winning 25-13.

Two players that stuck out for strong performances by Knights head coach Vanessa Guiterrez were sophomore Leah Mueller (33 attempts serve, 13 aces, three errors, served a 90%) and junior Mellisa Leon (10 kills and seven attempted passes).

“Leah did a great job hitting her spots serving, and once Melissa connected she was able to get some kills,” Guiterrez said.

Guiterrez was proud of the entire team’s collective effort in securing the victory.

“Had a rough start to league, but we only have room for improvement moving forward,” Guiterrez said.

The Knights are next set to take on the Umatilla Vikings on the road next Tuesday, tipoff is at 5 p.m.

Echo wins in Arlington, 3-0

IONE — The Echo Cougars (4-3) took to the road Sept. 16 and defeated the Ione/Arlington Cardinals (4-4) in three sets (25-15, 25-14 and 25-17.)

Madison Orem led the Cardinals. She was 100% from the service line, with 8 assists, and Grace Ogden (three blocks) with Callie Troutman (two blocks) protecting the net.

Senior Faith McCarthy led the Cougars with 5 kills, while juniors Charlei Harwood and Lilly Wallis had four each. Sophomore Neveah Thew had 10 assists where Morgan Hendrix had 10 digs. Harwood also was able to land seven aces.

Though on the losing end, Cardinals head coach Dawn Eynetich said the stats don’t do enough justice for her team’s efforts.

“The team is focusing on non-statistical goals and that’s what we are focused on doing,” Eynetich said.

The Cardinals are next set to go back on the road, to take on the Bickleton Pirates (1-3) non Sept. 21, set to begin at 5 p.m. The Cougars (2-3) will be hosting at home the Condon Blue Devils next Tuesday, tipoff is also at 5 p.m.

Prep girls soccer

Riverside falls in narrow defeat to Echo/Stanfield

RIVERSIDE — The Pirates lost a tight match Sept. 16 against Echo/Stanfield, losing 2-1 off late goals by the Tigers.

Following a scoreless first half, sophomore Juliana Magaña found the back of the net midway through the second half. Just when it looked like Riverside was on its way to a victory, Echo/Stanfield scored two back-to-back goals with roughly 10 minutes left in regulation.

“We struggled a little bit in the first half, but picked it up in the second half,” head coach Yvonne Torres said.

Riverside falls to 1-2-1 on the year and 0-1 in league play. Up next, the Pirates will head to Four Rivers on Sept. 24.

The win is the first of the year for Echo/Stanfield, improving their record to 1-3 overall and 1-0 in league play this season.

Hermiston falls in road matchup with Kamiakin

KENNEWICK — Hermiston dropped its second straight match Sept. 16, losing 4-0 on the road at Kamiakin.

The Bulldogs faced a difficult Kamiakin offensive attack that accumulated 18 shots on goal throughout the match. Senior goalkeeper Lindsey Littlesky tallied 14 saves on the night against the undefeated Braves.

“It was a big test against a very strong opponent,” Hermiston head coach Freddy Guizar said.

The Bulldogs fell to 2-3 on the year with the loss and will return home to face Chiawana on Sept. 21.

Shorthanded Irrigon loses to Umatilla

IRRIGON — The Knights lost their second straight game to start the season on Sept. 16, falling 3-0 at home to Umatilla.

With only 11 active players in the matchup, Irrigon played with one less player for upward of 20 minutes in the second half.

Irrigon and Umatilla remained scoreless through the first half, but Umatilla pulled away about 20 minutes into the second half. The Vikings scored their first goal of the game off a corner kick that bounced off an Irrigon defender. Shortly after, Umatilla converted on a free kick to jump out to a 2-0 lead. With seconds remaining in the match, the Vikings added another goal to win 3-0.

“The girls just never gave up, I’m proud of them,” Irrigon head coach Adriana Cadenas said of the loss. “They gave it their all.”

Prep boys soccer

The Knights defeat the Vikings in the closing seconds

IRRIGON — The Irrigon Knights Boys varsity soccer team (1-4) secured their first victory of the season against the Umatilla Vikings (0-1) on Sept. 16.

The Vikings were able to get on the board when freshman Alexis Ruiz scored early in the second half. In the closing 10 minutes, the Knights scored two goals, first from sophomore Dylan Resendiz and the second and game winning goal came from junior Sebastian Rodriguez.

In the 80 minutes, Vikings sophomore goalkeeper Pedro Morfin had three saves where Knight sophomore goalkeeper Julian Abbot had seven saves.

Knights head coach Richard Schranz was excited to see how his team came together.

“Words can’t describe seeing them pull together and work so hard as a team,” Schranz said.

The Knights are set to take the Nyssa Bulldogs (3-2 ) Sept. 24, kickoff is at 4 p.m.

The Vikings are looking to bounce back against the McLoughlin Pioneers (1-2) on Sept. 21; the game is set to begin at 6 p.m.

McLoughlin wins blowout over Prescott

MILTON-FREEWATER — McLoughlin improved to 2-2 on the season Sept. 16, defeating Prescott High School 7-0.

The Pioneers maintained the tempo throughout the game, controlling possession for most of the game and limiting Prescott’s shots.

According to McLoughlin head coach Jose Garcia, the Pioneers were able to rotate in their bench and get younger players playing time in the blowout win. He gave credit to Prescott for playing well despite having a small group.

“We know which players are capable and can contribute to the team,” Garcia said.

McLoughlin has one more non-league matchup at Umatilla on Sept. 21, before beginning league play at Ontario on Sept. 25.

Prep slowpitch softball

Hermiston splits doubleheader

HERMISTON — The Bulldogs slowpitch softball team split its season-opening doubleheader Sept. 16 against Wenatchee, winning the first match 11-4 and losing game two 16-9.

In game one, Hermiston set the tone with three runs in the first inning. Head coach Amy Stone credited the pitching of Myla McAdams in her first career slowpitch start and defensive consistency from Macy Tovar and Hailey South. Strong performances at the plate from Tovar, South, Rylee Richman and Ali Serna led to a victory in Game One.

“Overall, the girls all played together and fought together and had fun,” Stone said.

In Game Two, the Bulldogs came out flat and allowed 10 runs over the first two innings. Hermiston fought back in the third inning, trimming the Wenatchee lead. South hit a home run, but Hermiston ultimately fell by seven runs to split the doubleheader.

“The girls understand that if they would have come out and played our defense and taken away those first two innings, it’s a whole new ball game,” Stone said. “They agree that the fight was there, they just would get comfortable and not finish the fight.”