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Phoenix advances to state tournament SUTHERLIN � Phoenix advanced to the Class 3A state tournament for the first time in well over a decade with a 15-10, 15-7 state playoff victory against Sutherlin Saturday. "We played incredibly good (defense) and didn�t let a lot of stuff hit the floor," Phoenix coach Tom Murphy said. "We came out real strong from the very onset. We put them back on their heels. We served aggressive and our serve-receive was the best we had all year." The Pirates (27-9) will open the tournament against top-ranked Rainier at noon Friday at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene. Middle hitters Tiffany Ross and Leilani Saurman keyed the Phoenix attack. Ross provided 12 kills and four blocks, while Saurman contributed six kills and three blocks. Additionally, outside hitters Sutton Jackson and April Darby added both offensive and defensive support by combining for 13 kills and 22 digs. Senior defensive specialist Erin Toews also added 10 digs. "In a lot of ways those dig numbers were the key to the match," said Murphy. "We were able to go right from serve-receive into our potent offense. And tonight we were able to do that pretty consistent throughout the match." The Pirate serving was outstanding with a 50-for-54 effort. Not only was the placement good on the Phoenix serving but the Pirates were very aggressive from the line. "It was by far our best effort of the season," said Murphy. "The girls did an awesome job of executing what we asked them to do." HENLEY 15-15, MYRTLE POINT 10-3 � At Klamath Falls, Henley overcame some early jitters in the first game to advance in the 3A playoffs. Alice Myers had a team-high eight kills to lead the Hornets. Henley was 45-of-45 serving. Southern Cascade League ST. MARY�S 15-15, CASCADE CHRISTIAN 10-13 � For the first time in three years, it didn�t take St. Mary�s three games to defeat Cascade Christian during a Southern Cascade League volleyball seeding match at the Crusaders� gym. The SCL regular-season champion Crusaders garnered the league No. 1 spot and will open the Class 1A state tournament at 1:30 p.m. Friday at the Lane County Fairgrounds. Cascade Christian, the SCL regular-season runner-up and No. 2 seed, will play in the opening match of the tournament at 8 a.m. Friday. The 10th-ranked Challengers had leads in both games against No. 3 St. Mary�s (26-6). In the first game, the Challengers grabbed a 7-4 lead, but three straight missed serves allowed St. Mary�s to surge ahead 12-7. In Game 2, Cascade held a 13-6 lead before sophomore Kristina Easton served four straight points. After both teams sided out, Kim Hansen served out the match. During the Crusaders late-game run, sophomore outside Libby Trum slammed five of her team-high eight kills. Kristen Zielony added six kills and six digs for the Crusaders and setter Lani Brophy provided 18 assists. Skyline A League District Tournament LOGGERS TAKE SECOND � At Winston, Butte Falls served itself out of any chance at the Skyline A League title against Elkton but found the right touch against Days Creek to earn a trip to the state tournament for the first time since 1996. Elkton took advantage of eight service errors by the jittery Loggers to claim a 15-6, 15-5 victory in a matchup of the Northern and Southern Division champions. After Days Creek disposed of fellow No. 2 seed Paisley in two games, Butte Falls (20-6) won the winner-take-all final match of the day 15-7, 15-2 at Douglas High. Butte Falls will open the state tournament Nov. 10 at 5:30 p.m. against the Casco League champion at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.