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PREP VB: Raiders upend Comets in 5A semis By Mail Tribune staff Updated: Nov 05, 2022 12:03 AM A A South Medford, St. Mary’s drop openers; RVA falls in 1A semis FOREST GROVE — As the clock charged toward 11 p.m. Friday night, the Crater volleyball team found themselves in a situation that had been quite rare up until that point. The Comets, with visions of playing for their first-ever state title, had to flip a scoreline in their favor. Second-seeded Crescent Valley — a team with just two seniors on its roster — had other ideas, as No. 3 Crater suffered its first loss in over a month, an 18-25, 25-17, 17-25, 17-25 defeat in the semifinals of the Class 5A state tournament at Forest Grove High School. Crater (20-5) advanced to the semifinals with a dominant 25-19, 25-13, 25-17 win over sixth-seeded La Salle Prep earlier in the day, but couldn’t replicate things a few hours later Friday night. The Comets will face top-seeded Wilsonville in the third-place match at 2:15 p.m. Saturday. The Wildcats (28-1) were handed their first loss of the season by Bend (22-4) in Saturday night’s other semifinal. So much of the season for Crater had seen the Comets simply overpowering their opponents, with seniors Kendra Bittle and Maddie Kocina leading the way. Crescent Valley (26-2) essentially took a play out of Crater’s book with strong net play to get ahead and then stay ahead. Crater was able to dig out of an early hole in the first set and tie it at 9-all, but a solo block and an ace forced Comets head coach Leaf Jensen to call a timeout as his team was trailing again at 12-9. A Bittle kill cut the Raiders’ lead to 17-10, but the Comets couldn’t pull any closer than that. It was the first set Crater had dropped since tournament play at South Medford on Oct. 1. Crater, however, rebounded to take the second set, as Bittle recorded back-to-back aces to give her team a 9-5 lead. The Raiders cut the Comets’ lead to 16-15, but Crater was able to take advantage of a few Crescent Valley miscues to pull even on the night. The Raiders were able to take early leads in both the third and fourth sets, forcing the Comets to try and rally once more. CV’s Taelyn Bentley recorded back-to-back kills in the third set to put the Raiders in front 10-6, and while Bittle’s kill down the line made it 15-11, the Comets never were able to move the deficit any closer. Crescent Valley extended its early 6-2 lead in the fourth to 10-5 after an Isabella Jacobson kill. It quickly became 18-10 in favor of the Raiders, with a big Kocina kill pulling the Comets as close as 18-13. In the quarterfinals, La Salle Prep entered having won six out of its last seven, but the Comets were able rebound after a slow start to take command of the first set. Crater used a big run in the second set to pull away, running off nearly 10 straight point to push its lead into double digits. Against the Falcons, Bittle had a team-high 17 kills and eight digs, while Kocina had 15 kills and four aces. Alexa Gugliotta added five kills, Kate Stidham had 36 assists and Joslyhn Pope recorded seven digs. 6A STATE TOURNAMENT: At Forest Grove, sixth-seeded South Medford battled but, like during the Southwest Conference season, couldn’t get over the hump against No. 3 Sheldon in a battle of the league’s top two teams in the Class 6A state quarterfinals. The Irish (27-5), who swept the Panthers in SWC play, held on for a 25-14, 22-25, 25-19, 25-20 victory in the tournament opener. South Medford (23-7), which is making its first-ever appearance in the state championships, will next play another SWC foe in Roseburg (18-6) in a consolation semifinal Saturday. The elimination contest starts at 8 a.m. Katie Clevenger led the Panthers with 14 kills, 16 digs and one block, while Mayen Akpan had seven kills and four blocks and Lola Horton added seven kills and one block. Cameron Christian came up with 21 digs to go with three aces, Naomi Johnson added six kills and one block and Baylee Davis had 39 assists and seven digs. Sheldon later defeated Westview in four sets to earn a spot in Saturday’s championship final against Jesuit. 3A STATE TOURNAMENT: At Springfield, top-seeded Sisters proved too much for St. Mary’s in the Class 3A state tournament opener, with the Outlaws scoring a 25-13, 25-17, 25-19 victory in the quarterfinals. The eighth-seeded Crusaders (19-6) next face an elimination contest at 10 a.m. Saturday against Horizon Christian (20-5) in the consolation semifinals. Emma Johnston led the way for St. Mary’s with nine kills, while Kelsey Dunn added six kills and four blocks and Noelle Thickett recorded five digs. Kaitlyn Hansen finished with 19 assists. As a team, the Crusaders missed just two serves all match. 1A STATE TOURNAMENT: At Redmond, fifth-seeded Rogue Valley Adventist nearly pulled off big two upsets in the Class 1A state tournament at Redmond High School. After outlasting No. 4 North Clackamas Christian in the morning quarterfinals, the Red Tail Hawks took top-seeded Damascus Christian to the limit before the Eagles survived with a 25-13, 22-25, 25-16, 16-25, 15-7 victory in the semifinals. Rogue Valley Adventist (23-2) will play for third place at 6:15 p.m. Saturday against No. 3 St. Paul (27-6), which beat Powder Valley in the quarterfinals before falling short to North Douglas in the semis. With senior setter Destinee Quattrocelli orchestrating the offense, the Red Tail Hawks willed their way to a win in the fourth set of the semifinals and stayed alive against Damascus Christian but, playing in their second five-set match of the day, RVA was a little too gassed to stay with the state’s top team in the final set. Seniors Emma Bischoff, Michaela Porter and Isabell Zamora also had outstanding performances in the semifinal match for the Red Tail Hawks. In the quarterfinals, the Red Tail Hawks upset the fourth-ranked North Clackamas Christian, 20-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-20, 15-8. Bischoff had a big game versus the Saints (30-6) as Rogue Valley Adventist’s anchor on the court. PHOTO BY: LARRY STAUTH JRCrater High's Madison Kocina watches her spiked ball sail over the net during last Saturday’s match against Dallas at the Scenic Middle School gym.