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North Medford claims third in state volleyball By STEPHEN SMITH for the Mail Tribune PORTLAND -- North Medford's resiliency proved pivotal at the Class 4A state volleyball tournament Saturday. After losing a gut-wrenching, three-game semifinal match to Central Catholic earlier in the day, the third-ranked Black Tornado bounced back to capture third place with a 15-8, 15-8 victory over Barlow at the University of Portland's Chiles Center. North benefited from last year's experience, when it lost in the third-place game to Barlow. This time, the Black Tornado demonstrated more heart than the Bruins and took advantage of its quickness against the taller opponent. "I thought the girls did an outstanding job of playing with emotion," North Medford coach Ron Beick said. "Everybody was able to contribute." Senior setter Mandie Horn orchestrated the North attack in both Saturday matches. Horn combined for 68 assists against the two opponents. "We tried to keep our focus on the events ahead of us instead of getting caught up with what happened earlier in the day," said Horn. "We wanted to come out and play like we knew we could and take home third place. We were a lot more prepared tonight, and it showed." North got out to early leads in both games against Barlow, but the Bruins fought back each time. In the opener, the Tornado grabbed a 9-3 advantage. Barlow made a run in the middle of the game to cut the deficit to 11-8. Then several kills by Ali Mostue and Ali Piff turned the momentum for North. Anna Happel's stuff block on Barlow's Katie Kost gave North the Game 1 victory. The Black Tornado led 4-1 in the second game. The Bruins outscored North 6-1 to forge in front 7-5. North took command by scoring eight unanswered points, largely on the contributions by front-row players Mostue and Lacey Dalton. A kill by Kristin Ferris ended the match. Mostue led North's net play with 12 kills and Piff had nine. Ferris contributed seven kills and 12 digs. North Medford had a good opportunity to reach its first-ever volleyball state finals earlier in the day. After losing the opener 15-5, North evened the match with a 15-8 win. The Black Tornado led Central Catholic, 9-1, in the third and deciding game. But the second-ranked Rams rallied for a 15-13 victory to reach their sixth state finals in seven years. It appeared as though Central Catholic would run away with the match early on, jumping out to an 8-0 lead in the first game behind solid net play by Laura Hastings and Michelle Minier. Central Catholic took North Medford's athleticism out of the first game by tipping and using careful ball placement on its shot. In the second game, however, the Black Tornado showed why it was one of the most-feared teams in the tournament. North Medford crashed the net on virtually every play, blocking Central Catholic shots with ease en route to an 8-2 advantage. Dalton racked up several key blocks and five service points during the early second-game run. The Rams were able to cut the lead to 11-8, but a Happel kill ended the threat, and the Black Tornado won the game going away, finishing with a thunderous kill by Ferris. In the third game, it appeared the momentum had shifted to North Medford. The Tornado jumped to a 4-0 lead behind the precision serving of Mostue. North bumped the lead to 9-1 on a block by Mostue and Piff. It didn't look like things could get any better for North ... and they didn't. Central Catholic stormed back with six straight points. Then, after forcing the Black Tornado to sideout after just one point, the Rams completed the comeback by scoring six more unanswered points to go up 13-10. The sudden comeback appeared to break North's spirit. Several Ferris kills staved off match points, but the Rams finished off the Tornado when a Dalton shot sailed just past the back line at 14-13 for the win. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford,