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PREP PLAYOFFS Rogue River emerges from Skyline deadlock MERLIN -- Rogue River lost to North Valley twice during the Skyline Conference volleyball regular season. But the Chieftains wanted one more chance against the Knights. Rogue River got that opportunity in a conference playoff Tuesday and avenged the earlier losses with a 17-15, 15-11 victory to determine the league's No. 3 berth in the Class 3A playoffs. The Chieftains (15-12) are one win away from advancing to the state tournament for the third consecutive year after tying Phoenix and North Valley for third place in the Skyline. Rogue River plays at Waldport, the Valco League runner-up, Saturday. The winner advances to state. "Our girls were very, very dissatisfied losing to North Valley twice during the season, knowing we were the better team," Rogue River first-year coach Briana Grieve said. "They wanted to play North Valley and wanted to play at North Valley. They wanted to beat them in two games at their home court, and that's exactly what they did." In the opener, Kelly Hansen served points two through six to give the Chieftains a 6-2 lead, but North Valley eventually knotted the score at 8-8. The Chiefs never trailed, but the game remained tight until Becky Grinde served the winning point. In the second game, the Knights grabbed a 3-0 lead. Then Amber Goodwin served six straight points to provide Rogue River with a 7-3 margin. North Valley closed the deficit to 12-11, but Goodwin again produced from the service line with the game's final three points, including two on aces. "We served hard tonight, especially Amber Goodwin," said Grieve. "We knew if we could get past their two big girls and force their defense to put the ball up, we'd come out on top." Melissa Badley led the Chieftains' front row with 10 kills and four stuff blocks, while Goodwin added eight kills. Krystal Worthington and Mindi Yost combined for 25 digs to spark Rogue River's defense. "It was obvious we wanted it more," said Grieve. "We played with so much heart. That desire and having lost to them twice worked in our favor." Class 2A volleyball BONANZA 15-15, CASCADE CHRISTIAN 12-4 -- At Bonanza, senior middle blocker Sarah Manning played her best game of the season to lead the victory against Cascade Christian in the Southern Cascade League playoffs. The loss ended the Challengers' season. Bonanza plays Gilchrist, which defeated Chiloquin 15-13 and 15-3, in the second round of the league playoffs on Thursday. The winner of that match plays at St. Mary's Saturday in a seeding game for the Class 2A state tournament. Manning had six kills, five blocks and led a Bonanza serving effort that produced only two missed serves in the match. Cascade Christian was plagued by hitting errors and defensive lapses. Girls soccer SUNSET 1, ROSEBURG 0 -- At Roseburg, Jill Steinfeld scored the only goal on a penalty kick at the 15th minute in the Class 4A sub-tournament match. Sunset outshot Roseburg 20-9, but Indians sophomore goalie Kairi Wheeler made some excellent saves to keep the Indians close. Roseburg, the Southern Oregon Conference's No. 4 team, finished the season with a 7-9 record. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford,