Blue Devils best Lady Broncs

Emotions are usually a little higher when your opponent is your rival. Senior night is always an emotional night too. But when a senior player goes down early in the match, it’s really tough. Such was the case for Hamilton when they took on Corvallis on Thursday. Early in the first game, senior Cara Schultz’s knee buckled and the senior was done for the night. The injury shook the Lady Broncs but coach DeEtte Monson was pleased with how they responded.
“I was proud of the way the other girls stepped up. Jaylee Albert stepped into that position and did a heck of a job there. All of the girls really rallied around and tried to help each other out. It definitely shakes you up,” she concluded.
Corvallis had dealt with such a scenario last week according to coach Kasey Arceniega. The young Blue Devil team had some injuries affecting the team last week and struggled to find their balance.
“I felt last week we were kind of in a little funk because we had some injured players. Thank gosh we have our team back,” said Arceniega. “We pulled it out. It was either we took that challenge on that we had last week and made something of it or we let it defeat us.”
The Blue Devils were poised and played with determination and confidence. It was the confidence that had their coach looking pleased. With a young team heading into the Southwest A Divisional this week as one of the top teams in the Southwest A, confidence is key to their success.
Corvallis secured one of the top seeds with the win over Hamilton on Thursday and a victory over Dillon on Saturday. The Blue Devils topped Hamilton in three games, although by the third game, Hamilton had adjusted to the loss of Schultz and were playing with more confidence. Joanna Avery had nine kills and Laura Berner finished with 18 assists and three aces. Hamilton’s Penny Gwynn finished with 10 kills.
Corvallis def. Hamilton, 25-15, 25-19, 25-23.
Kills – Corvallis 35 (Joanna Avery 9), Hamilton 35 (Penny Gwynn 10). Blocks – Corvallis 3, Hamilton 2 (Sadie Della Silva 2). Digs – Corvallis 74 (Kelsey Irwin 18), Hamilton 62 (Kennedy Chadwick 26). Assists – Corvallis 32 (Laura Berner 18), Hamilton 20 (Val Tayler 18). Aces – Corvallis 6 (Berner 3), Hamilton 6 (Tayler 3).
Corvallis held off Dillon in three games to take the match against Beaverhead County. Kelsey Irwin had 11 kills and three aces.
Corvallis def. Dillon, 26-24, 25-21, 25-18.
Kills – Dillon 28 (Whitney Southam, Josie Pendleton 9), Corvallis 28 (Kelsey Irwin 11). Blocks – Dillon 5 (Pendleton 2), Corvallis 5 (Joanna Avery 3.5). Digs – Dillon 55 (Taryn Judge 21), Corvallis 50 (Alex Price 11). Assists – Dillon 27 (Jacki Richardson 25), Corvallis 28 (Laura Berner 14). Aces – Dillon 8 (Kansas Suenram 3), Corvallis 8 (Irwin 3).