Rough Week for Lady Falcons Volleyball Ends with Improvement

After losing 6 consecutive sets last week,  the Elmira Volleyball team finally righted the ship as they hosted 5 other teams at their own tournament on Saturday September 22 at Elmira High School.  After splitting four sets with Mazama and North Marion in pool play, the Falcons came off the deck to sweep away Gladstone 2-0 (25-5, 25-16).  The win moved the Lady Falcons into the championship bracket where they fell 2-1 to Phoenix, 15-25, 28-26, and 12-15.

Cheyanne White fires a shot in a game earlier this season for the Lady Falcons volleyball team.  Photo: Kimberly Lillie

The week started ominously at Junction City, where a power failure at the Tigers gymnasium caused a 45 minute delay.  Their reward for their patience was a 3-0 loss to Junction City (17-25, 11-25, and 7-25) despite 6 blocks by Maranda Hanson.  The three set drubbing was amplified by a rash of two hit and net violations, many of which left Lady Falcon players mystified.  The calls were incongruously distributed with Elmira getting tagged with 19 violations to only 3 for Junction City.  The Lady Falcons were then swept aside 3-0 by Cottage Grove on Thursday, September 20.    They also fell 2-0 to Newport in their tournament consolation round.  Three of the Lady Falcons' victories this year have over Gladstone.

The week left Elmira at 5-6 (0-3 in the 4A Sky-Em League) for the season.