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Tornado digs past Panthers photo by Drew Fleming By Don Hunt With several of his best hitters coming back this season, Ron Beick knew the watchword for the North Medford Black Tornado volleyball team this fall was defense. The Tornado dug up everything except the gym floor against cross-town rival South Medford on Thursday night and turned its tenacious defense into instant offense on the way to a 15-6, 15-4 victory in the Panthers� gym. "The focus throughout the season has been digging, ball control and serve receive," Beick said. "We spend a lot of our practice time on defense, but it goes beyond the digging. No matter where the ball goes, we�re always looking to make a quick transition into our offense and attack the net." The victory improved the No. 3-ranked Tornado to 10-0 in the Southern Oregon Conference and 19-1 overall, while South Medford fell to 4-6 in league play and 7-7 overall. Senior middle Kendra Mitchell had a big match for the Tornado, registering eight kills, five digs and four aces. North Medford�s other middle � junior Chaley Higgins � added five kills and right side Candace Fleener chipped in four. "The game plan tonight was to establish the middle early," Beick said. "We wanted to force their middles to block because that frees up our outside and backside hitters into one-on-one situations." North Medford jumped to a 3-0 lead in Game 1 on the strength of two kills by Jill Carrigan and quickly increased its lead to 7-2 as South failed to get much of anything going offensively. The Panthers made a mini rally on Kellie Thomas� ace and a kill by Carrie Doren that made it 7-4, but North went on an 8-2 run to close it out. In Game 2, three hitting errors by the Panthers enabled North to grab a quick 5-1 advantage. The Tornado�s relentless defense and three Mitchell kills down the stretch closed out the match. Doren, Karla Zenz and Crystal Glover each had three kills to lead South. "They�re so good defensively that they wear you down," South Medford coach Jerry Hagstrom said. "And once they get the ball to the net, they put it down hard. If you can�t slow the ball down at the net, then it�s trouble. "They�re just a well-rounded team, and I wish them all the luck in the state playoffs. I think they�ve got a shot to win it all." Hagstrom said the Panthers, who took Roseburg to three games on Tuesday, encounter a mental block against their cross-town rival. South Medford has never beaten the Tornado. "We want to beat them so badly that it works against us," he said. North Medford now heads to the Clearwater Classic in Bend, a 16-team tournament that features the top 10 teams in Oregon. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.