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Freshman helps Pirates spike Cougs CAVE JUNCTION -- With regular middle hitter Sutton Jackson grounded by the flu, freshman Tiffany Ross stepped in and the Phoenix Pirates didn't miss a beat Tuesday night against Illinois Valley en route to a 15-6, 15-7 Skyline Conference volleyball win. Ross nailed all nine of her serves, including two aces, and racked up six kills. "Pretty good for her first varsity game," said Phoenix coach Tom Murphy. Outside hitter Kathrin Esch was 9-of-10 serving with five kills. Setter Janene Murphy was 14-of-15 serving with three aces and distributed the ball well. Outside Beth Nikodym added five kills and was 4-for-5 serving with an ace. Phoenix (18-7, 8-5 Skyline) remained in a third-place tie with North Valley and, with a little help, could nail down third place on Thursday. The Pirates entertain Rogue River, while first-place Henley travels to North Valley. If Phoenix and Henley win, the Pirates will be third and receive a first-round bye in the conference playoffs. "We're looking at same scenario as last year, but we're playing Rogue River at home," Murphy said. Last year, Rogue River beat Phoenix creating a three-way tie for third with North Valley. "The moral of the story is that we need to beat Rogue River, otherwise it gets very complicated. Besides, we're terrible at coin flips. I'd rather just win the game." ROGUE RIVER 15-15, MAZAMA 13-8 -- At Klamath Falls, Rogue River remained in the Skyline Conference playoff hunt with a victory at Mazama. Shaye Eubanks had seven kills and Karley Caster six blocks for Mazama. NORTH VALLEY 16-15, HIDDEN VALLEY 14-8 -- At Murphy, Whitney Coston notched six kills and two blocks for the Knights. HENLEY 15-9-15, LAKEVIEW 5-15-10 -- At Klamath Falls, Alice Mayes had 12 kills and Sam Young added 10 for Henley as it clinched the Skyline Conference title. The Hornets found themselves tied at eight in the third game before Erika Clemonts rattled off five straight points from the service line to secure the win. Henley ups its overall record to 29-3 and 13-0 in conference, while Lakeview drops to 11-2 in Skyline. Class 2A ST. MARY'S 15-15, GLENDALE 2-0 -- Maren Zielony notched seven kills, six aces and 11 digs, while Juliani de Sousa Solis added two service aces and Lani Brophy dole out 16 assists to go with seven digs as St. Mary's rolled to a non-league win at home. The Crusaders improved to 27-3 and remain ranked No. 1 among the state's Class 2A teams. St. Mary's plays Cascade Christian in a critical Southern Cascade League match 8 p.m. Thursday at Scenic Middle School in Central Point. Skyline A BUTTE FALLS 15-15, HOSANNA CHRISTIAN 8-7 -- At Hosanna Christian, Butte Falls wrapped up the Skyline A Southern Division crown with its 80th win of the decade in league play. Since 1990, the Loggers have lost just five league matches, while going undefeated seven times and winning eight division titles. Sophomore Jessica Dunlap had five aces and nine assists while Jade Torres had three kills for Butte Falls which picked up its ninth league win of the season against one loss. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.