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PREP VB: Panthers bury Axe with balanced effort By Mail Tribune staff Updated: Oct 11, 2022 10:13 PM A A Third-ranked South Medford came out strong and took care of business in straight-set fashion Tuesday night, posting a 25-14, 25-19, 25-16 victory over South Eugene in Southwest Conference volleyball. Katie Clevenger had 18 kills, 13 digs and four aces and Cameron Christian provided a key defensive performance with 10 digs for the Panthers (20-5, 9-1 SWC). Baylee Davis supplied 36 assists and six digs and Brooke Johnston had eight kills and five digs as South Medford set up a pivotal showdown Thursday with sixth-ranked Sheldon to potentially determine the SWC champion. Both teams have suffered only one league loss. “Tonight we were able to use everybody and that was nice to see coming down here to the end,” said Panthers head coach Robin Akpan. “Obviously Katie came out super strong but it’s nice to see everybody contributing. I think we’re excited and looking forward to Thursday and to what comes after at that.” Middle blockers Mayen Akpan and Naomi Johnson chipped in with three kills and a block apiece to help deny the Axe (8-11, 4-6). GRANTS PASS 3, NORTH MEDFORD 1: North Medford’s execution and ball control were off throughout the match and it proved costly as Grants Pass took advantage for a 25-23, 25-16, 22-25, 25-21 win at North Medford High School. The Black Tornado (8-11, 4-6 SWC) picked up eight kills apiece from freshman Kristina Atonio and senior Olivia Stubenrauch, while senior setter Maddie Blake provided 20 assists. Ella Empasis added 16 assists and defensive specialist Raegan Boice led the Black Tornado with 11 digs. The Cavers improved to 5-12 overall and 2-7 in the SWC. CRATER 3, NORTH EUGENE 0: At Eugene, No. 7-ranked Crater came out of the gates on fire but would need a third-set rally to pull off a sweep of North Eugene, 25-11, 25-17, 26-24. Senior outside hitter Kendra Bittle logged 13 kills, eight digs and three aces for the Comets (14-4, 8-0 Skyline), who trailed the Highlanders (10-8, 5-4) 22-16 in the third set and faced a game-point, 24-20 deficit before maintaining their poise to make the comeback. The Comets received 32 assists and four digs from Kate Stidham, while Danica Huntoon had six kills, six digs and a pair of aces and Maddie Kocina contributed seven kills and five digs. Joslyhn Pope pitched in 14 digs for the Comets, who have not dropped a set in Midwestern League play this season. EAGLE POINT 3, CHURCHILL 1: At Eugene, after its comeback came up shy in the opening set, Eagle Point pulled it together for convincing wins over the next three sets for the Eagles’ third straight win, 26-28, 25-18, 25-21, 25-17. Eagle Point (8-6, 4-4 Midwestern League) clawed their way out of a big first-set deficit to tie the score at 24-all, only to come up short. The Eagles, however, kept their rhythm going with better serving and by limiting their mistakes. Addison Holcomb paced the Eagles with 19 kills, 12 digs and a couple of aces while Emma Kness went for 11 kills and 15 digs. Makynlee Schauffler set up many of the Eagles’ big swings with 39 assists, with Abby Trautman coming up with eight kills and 11 digs, Megan Carr adding 10 kills andBaylee Mullen pitching in nine kills. The loss dropped the Lancers to 5-11 overall and 3-5 in MWL play. HIDDEN VALLEY 3, PHOENIX 1: At Phoenix, after capturing the opening set, Phoenix was unable to keep the momentum going, allowing Hidden Valley to claim the next three for a 22-25, 25-13, 25-10, 25-21 Skyline Conference win. Senior Ami Safady finished with 10 kills, 10 digs and four blocks for the Pirates (5-13, 1-6 Skyline). The Mustangs moved to 7-8 overall and 2-3 in Skyline action. CASCADE CHRISTIAN 3, ROGUE RIVER 1: At Rogue River, sophomore Poppy Freeman racked up 17 kills and junior setter Molly Griffin dished out 35 assists to power Cascade Christian’s offense and wrap up a 25-5, 21-25, 25-13, 25-19 triumph in Far West League play. Madison Todd came up with 14 kills and four aces while Annika Byers landed five aces for the Challengers (14-7, 7-1 FWL). Rogue River (4-11, 1-8) was led by senior Mikayla Moore’s seven kills and 13 digs to go with an ace and a block. Sophomore setter Jaeden Gillette made her return from injury to put up four aces, seven digs and seven assists for the Chieftains, while senior Grace McQuain registered seven blocks and six digs. Suzy Smith added 21 digs and five kills, Lizzy Smith had 20 digs and Avery Bushey provided four blocks and a pair of aces for Rogue River. ST. MARY’S 3, GLIDE 0: At Glide, St. Mary’s secured a spot in the Far West League tournament at the end of the regular season and a berth in the 3A state playoffs with a straight-set win over Glide, 25-20, 25-10, 25-21. The top four FWL teams advance to the state playoffs, and St. Mary’s (14-5, 7-1 FWL) stands tied for second with Cascade Christian one game back of Coquille and two games ahead of Glide with two matches remaining. Kelsey Dunn had 14 kills, three blocks and four aces to lead the Crusaders, while Kaitlyn Hansen delivered 30 assists to go with 10 digs. Emma Johnston, Maddie Ward and Ada Bernard each had five kills, with Johnston recording 15 digs while Noelle Thickett had four kills and 10 digs and Albie Borovansky had 11 digs. RVA WINS TITLE: Rogue Valley Adventist improved to 16-1 overall and became the smallest school (Oregon Class 1A) to win the Walla Walla Fall Classic in its 24-year history this past weekend. The Red Tail Hawks beat a trio of schools from Washington in the event that included 16 teams from seven states and Canada. RVA won 25-10, 25-20 over Columbia Adventist Academy, 25-19, 21-25, 15-9 over Walla Walla Valley Academy and finally 25-18, 25-20, 25-23 over Upper Columbia Academy in the championship final. Emma Bischoff had 14 kills, nine digs and four blocks in the championship match, while Michaela Porter added 10 kills, five digs and three aces and Destinee Quattrocelli had 14 assists and eight digs. Also in the final, Isabell Zamora had six kills and six digs. South Medford's Naomi Johnson, shown in action earlier this season, had three kills and a block in a win over South Eugene on Tuesday. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune]