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Pirates fall short against Honkers PHOENIX � Tom Murphy knew his Phoenix Pirates had to play error-free volleyball to have any chance against fifth-ranked Lakeview. The Pirates failed to come up with an optimum performance in a Skyline Conference match Tuesday and dropped a 15-8, 15-5 decision to the visiting Honkers. "We didn�t serve well and didn�t play good enough defense to hang with them," said the Phoenix coach. "We�re not a bad team, they just made us look bad." Lakeview was 51-of-52 serving compared to 29-of-36 for the Pirates. The Honker front line consisting of middles Kristi Albertson and Fran Hartman and outside hitter Jess Childress combined for 17 kills and provided a deterrent to any Pirate attack. Along with the defense of Jamie Ruda and the setting of Megan Albertson, Lakeview played a complete match. "They have no weaknesses and they�ve got athletes in every spot," said Murphy. "They blocked really well. What they didn�t block, they dug and turned it into offense." April Darby had a good all-around performance for the Pirates. The junior outside hitter had four kills, was 5-of-6 serving and came up with four digs. Phoenix sophomore setter Kelsey Russell provided 17 assists and was responsible for seven points on 11-of-12 serving. NORTH VALLEY 15-15, MAZAMA 12-3 � At Merlin, North Valley�s freshmen combination of setter Carly Burns and middle Elaina Renius proved formidable. Renius and junior middle Whitney Coston helped the Knights control the net with 15 kills. Renius also provided two blocks. Burns accounted for 12 assists as the Knights improved to 3-4 in conference action. Defensively, North Valley was led by Nicole Roberts (six digs) and Katie Strahan (five digs). Ashley Schilling was effective from the service line in Game 2 with 10 points. HENLEY 15-15, ILLINOIS VALLEY 6-7 � At Klamath Falls, Henley�s defense was the story in keeping the Hornets undefeated in league play. Henley�s defense constantly kept the ball in play and never allowed Illinois Valley�s offense to gain any rhythm. Sophomore Staci Maupin had eight kills and six blocks. The only loss suffered by Henley (21-1, 7-0 Skyline) this year was to North Medford in the South Albany State Preview Tournament. ROGUE RIVER 15-15, HIDDEN VALLEY 1-5 � At Rogue River, Ashleigh Artoff served nine points in the opening game and Kristi Frederick served six straight points in the clinching set. The Rogue River front line was led by sophomore Katie Glasscock (six kills) and senior Emily Sutherland (four kills). Kelly Simmons ended Game 1 with an ace, then served the first three points of Game 2 for the Chieftains, now 4-3 in the Skyline Conference. Becky Grinde ended the match with an ace. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.