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North moves within one win of state tourney PORTLAND - North Medford's volleyball team lost five of its first seven conference matches, but it has dramatically turned its season around. The Black Tornado won its second Class 4A state subtournament match Tuesday, downing Lincoln 15-11, 15-17, 15-10. North needs one more win to advance to the state tournament. Lincoln, the third-place team from the Portland Interscholastic League, was North's second victim in the Portland area in two nights. It defeated St. Mary's on Monday. "We've come a long way," North coach Ron Beick said, "not just technically but emotionally and learning how to play as a team and having confidence in each other." The Tornado (12-10) next plays Valley League runner-up South Salem Friday. The winner goes to state and opens play Nov. 9 against Pendleton at the Chiles Center in Portland. Senior middle Rachele Treger provided North the firepower in the decisive third game against Lincoln. Treger had six of her nine match kills in the final game. "She swung the momentum our way," said Beick. "Rachele did a great job hitting around their block." After winning the opening game, North led 14-12 in Game 2 but couldn't end the match. In Game 3, Amy Bakker served the first three points to give the Tornado a 3-0 lead. After Lincoln tied it at 3-3, Beick called a timeout to settle his team down. "We were pretty excited," said Beick. "We weren't real consistent on our passing." North surged ahead 10-7, then both teams went eight rotations without scoring a point. Stacey Casebier broke the drought for the Tornado by serving points 11-13, with two aces. "You could see they (the Cardinals) got real tentative," said Beick. "We hung in tough mentally and never got behind in the third game." Senior middle Chaley Higgins led North with 11 kills and six blocks. Casebier, a junior outside, provided six kills, 13 digs and two aces. Setter Candace Fleener orchestrated the North offense, which had four players with five or more kills. "Candace did a great job of getting the ball into the middle and made some great passes," said Beick. "She's been a real steady performer. We can't kill the ball unless she's doing her job." Class 4A Girls Soccer NORTH EUGENE 3, GRANTS PASS 2 , shootout - At Grants Pass, the Cavers fell in Class 4A subtournament action despite outshooting the Highlanders, 22-9, and holding a 2-1 lead into the final minute of regulation play. After Alissa Hunsaker gave North Eugene a 1-0 edge 10 minutes in, Grants Pass, which finished 8-5-1 overall, answered immediately on sophomore forward Jackie Pilcher's putback of a blast by senior forward Natasha Crook. Senior midfielder Megan Moon rocketed the Cavers to the lead with a 40-yard free-kick drive into the left upper-V with 20 minutes gone in the first half. Grants Pass stayed on top until 35 seconds remained in regulation, when the Highlanders' Sandra Schreckengast poked home a corner kick at the near post. After 20 minutes of overtime, the match went to a deciding shootout. Tied 3-3 through the initial five kickers, North Eugene prevailed on Schreckengast's winner in the sixth round. District 6 Girls Soccer NORTH VALLEY 1, HENLEY 0 - At Klamath Falls, Malloree Enoch's goal early in the second half propelled North Valley into the state postseason with the District 6 playoff victory. North Valley (9-4-2) will travel to Turner on Saturday to play Cascade, the District 8 No. 3 representative, in a subtournament game of the Class 3A/2A/1A state playoffs. For the second straight year, Henley (8-3-1) tied for second in district but failed to make it into the state playoffs. Enoch scored the game's only goal - her 22nd of the season - almost seven minutes into the second half. "She just got away from us once, that's all it took," Henley coach Sue Tinniswood said. "She dribbled through everybody and got in real close." Enoch beat Henley goalkeeper Nicole Pence on a low shot into the corner of the net from 6 yards out. North Valley outshot the Hornets, 16-8. The Knights limited Henley to just three second-half shots. "They outplayed us," said Tinniswood. "They hustled more and their passing plays were better than ours." Karyn Allen recorded the shutout in net for North Valley. "Overall, our defense stepped up," North Valley coach Gary Enoch said. "Our younger players are making the difference." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.