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I was assigned to cover a volleyball match last night, my first such venture. I had fun… volleyball is a great sport to watch — more enjoyable to watch than cross country (sorry runners). Here is how the finished product turned out. -Lee

McNary rolls past South Medford
By Lee Clarkson
Statesman Journal
November 4, 2010

Despite leading the match one set to none, McNary was trailing by ten points in the second set Wednesday, and it appeared they were losing control of the match.

Instead, the Celtics rallied to win the frame, and defeated South Medford in round one of the OSAA Class 6A state playoffs, 25-15, 25-23, 25-16.

“It was a huge win for us,” McNary coach Dustin Walker said. “The girls battled back, showed a lot of fight, a lot of heart, a lot of courage.”

The Celtics advance to the second round, where they will take to the road Saturday to face Barlow. The Bruins defeated Lakeridge Wednesday, 3-0.

Things started well for McNary, as the Celtics gradually pulled away from South Medford to win the first set, 25-15.

The key point of the match came with the Panthers leading 19-9 in the second set, looking to even the match at a set apiece.

The Celtics responded, reeling off a 16-4 run to close the set, winning 25-23.

Walker noted that during the rally, his players got back to the play that led to success in the first set.

“(We) just got away from what we’d been doing,” Walker said. “We got a little sloppy.”

McNary called two timeouts in an attempt to slow the Panthers’ momentum.

“We had a short little speech about how we need to stop bickering and just focus on the game,” Celtics senior Rebecca LaPorte said.

“We all just came together, knowing that work needed to be done and ignoring whatever mistakes were previously made.”

“We just weren’t handling (the ball) as well as we usually do,” McNary senior Madi Cavell said. “We just needed to clean that up, and when we did, we were able to get better hitting opportunities.”

After relinquishing its lead in the second frame, South Medford hung tough early in the third set, battling to a 5-5 tie.

McNary answered with seven consecutive points to take a 12-5 lead and never looked back, clinching the match by winning the third set, 25-16.

Cavell and Deven Hunter paced the Celtics’ offensive attack with 17 kills apiece. Megan Holland notched 35 assists. Whittley Carter posted 14 digs, followed by Cavell’s 13.

With round one behind them, McNary shifts its focus to second-seeded Barlow.

The Celtics, seeded third, saw the Bruins play earlier this season and know Saturday’s matchup will be tough.

“They are a really good team,” LaPorte said. “We know that we need to stay mentally tough the next two days for practice … and just be up on our game as much as we possibly can.”

As the playoffs progress, Walker knows that mistakes will need to be corrected.

“We know that it’s just going to get tougher next round,” Walker said. “We need to just focus on reducing the unforced errors on our side.”

A win Saturday would advance the Celtics to the state tournament Nov. 12-13 at Liberty High School in Hillsboro.

Cavell, the Central Valley Conference player of the year, said McNary’s players intend to play in Hillsboro.

“Our goal is to make it to the state tournament and we don’t want to let anyone get in the way of that,” Cavell said. “We’re going to do our best to go in (Saturday) and take care of business.”

lclarkson@statesmanjournal.com or (503) 399-6700

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