Finally champs at home

Pendleton beat rival Hermiston in the championship game Saturday evening. The Bucks fell behind by a set before cruising to a 2-1 victory as the Bulldogs' energy level flagged. Rylie Engelson led the way with 12 kills, while Kayla Stewart had six kills and three aces.

The Bucks almost didn't make it to the championship bracket at all.?

"This morning when we came out against Weston-McEwen we were a little slow and a little sluggish," said head coach Sonia Cooley, who returned to the program after a six-year absence. "We played better each game."

When the Bucks fell 25-16 in the first set against Hermiston, Cooley told her group they still had work to do.

"I said that we're not done here," she said. "We have one more goal and that's to win the trophy."

The tournament win is not a culmination for this veteran group, but merely a hint of the potential that lies ahead. It does, however, give credence to the notion that this talented, heavy-hitting team should be able to make a third-straight run at the state playoffs with their third coach in as many years.

"We have plenty of things we have to work on," Cooley said. "But to come out looking like we did, I'm very excited."

Eight teams were invited to the tournament and participated in pool play in the morning, playing six single-match games apiece. The top four teams advanced to the championship bracket, while the bottom four played in the consolation round. In each of those brackets, teams played best-two-of-three games.

Weston-McEwen claimed the top spot in the championship bracket, followed by Burns, Pendleton and Hermiston. The Dalles-Wahtonka, La Grande, Baker and Elgin rounded out the consolation bracket.

The Dalles-Wahtonka beat Baker to claim the consolation round victory.

Hermiston swept 2A Weston-McEwen in their first-round championship game 25-14, 25-19, overpowing the TigerScots with a crisp offensive flow. Even still, TigerScots' head coach Shawn White was pleased with his team's showing.

"It was a good day for us," White said. "We made a lot of progress today. I liked the competitiveness of our team and our ability to gel on the court."

Senior middle hitter Presley Pahl had 27 kills and seven blocks on the day for the TigerScots, while sophomore Morgan Entze continued her emergence with 33 assists and 11 aces.

In the other first-round championship game, Pendleton - which had never beaten Burns at this tournament - fought through a tough three-set game, winning 25-18, 24-26, 15-13. The Bucks then had to play Hermiston just six minutes later.

"At first we dug ourselves a hole," Engleson said. "But we worked as a team and we will go really far if we play the way we did."

For Hermiston, despite the sting of losing to Pendleton, the tournament was a positive experience for the young team, which has just three seniors.

"We're not satisfied but we're playing really well," said head coach Darci Wellsandt. "We were able to transition off the net quickly. We attacked the ball agressively."

Wellsandt said that overall, her team is right where she wants them to be.

"There was nothing that I saw I didn't like," she said. "The things we didn't do so well we're in control of."

Senior middle hitter Mary Shae Hays, who had several powerful kills for Hermiston throughout the day, said she was encouraged by her team's showing, especially their quickness at the net.

"We kept the intensity," she said. "Our energy level was up. Everyone was working as a team."

Hermiston plays La Grande on Tuesday, Grandview on Thursday and participates in the Sundome Invite in Yakima on Saturday.

Pendleton gets La Grande on Thursday, then plays Weston-McEwen on?Saturday at the Walla Walla Northwest Invite.

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The?Pendleton JV team finished third in the junior varsity tournament in the Gold gym, beating Burns 2-1 in the consolation game.

Coach Terri Prouse said it's the first time the team has defeated Burns in a long time.

Prouse also complimented the play of libero Maggie Stewart who led the team in digs.