The volleyball game between Stevensville and Corvallis served up more than volleyballs. There were the pink and lavender uniform shirts the Corvallis team was wearing to show support for Colors of Cancer. Lavender is the color for all cancers and pink, of course, is for breast cancer. Stevensville was sporting a gold ribbon for childhood cancer. But there was much more than that too.
Last summer, Robert Leonardi, the nine year old son of Phil and Alyce Leonardi lost his life in a tragic hit and run accident. Phil and Alyce are both teachers in Corvallis. Prior to the game, a moment of ‘WOW’ was held instead of the traditional moment of silence. The crowd was united in celebrating the life of this young man. Throughout the night, at each break in the game, upbeat music played that had the crowd singing along and tapping their feet. Phil and Alyce were presented with a volleyball signed by all the players.
Once the match began, it was all Corvallis. The strong serving by Corvallis kept Stevensville on their toes and unable to get into their own game plan. There were several great volleys by the two teams but ultimately, Corvallis prevailed. They won the first game, 25-14.
Corvallis coach Laurie Jones said the Blue Devils were able to keep the ball away from Stevensville’s stronger middle hitters.
“I think part of that is how difficult the ball that we put over is to hit; whether that be the serve or the hit, and just trying to keep them out of their system so they can’t get sets to their hitters.”
Stevensville coach Kyla Paulsen agreed with the assessment of the hard hitting Blue Devils. She said their serves were hard for her team to get a handle on. But then, occasionally, Stevensville would just react and play their game for a good volley or two.
Corvallis took the second game, 25-10. Sophomore outside hitter, Madeline Gilder stepped up her serving game and served up five aces in a row right at the end of the game. A tip by Stevensville ended the run but then Corvallis scored the winning point on a net ball by Stevensville during the last volley of the game.
The strong serving continued in the third game. Hannah Hutchison was on with her jump serve for Corvallis. Jones said the team has worked on their serving all season.
“First it was working on consistency. Like they have to be in bounds. Now that their getting more consistent, now let’s try to switch it up. They did that tonight.”
With only two games remaining in their season, Corvallis is looking to make a run and head back to state. “We focus on trying to be a higher level volleyball so even if we’re winning, there’s always stuff that we talk about, trying to fix and cue up,” concluded Jones.
Hamilton, Corvallis, and Stevensville will finish their regular seasons this weekend. Florence will host a seeding tournament on Saturday while Darby and Victor will be at the 13C district tournament at Valley Christian.
Corvallis def. Stevensville 25-14, 25-10, 25-4
Stevensville – Kills 9 (Aliyah Anderson 2, Ella Hendrickson 2), Assists 9 (Maddie Weber 9, Digs 28, Cassi Kopsa 10, Maddie Weber 6, Blocks 1, Aliyah Anderson.
Corvallis – Kills 29 (Hannah Hutchison 12), Assists 21 (Hannah Martin 20), Digs 28 (Casey Fison 12), Aces 16 (Madeline Gilder 10), Blocks 5 (Isabel Ev ans 3)
Dillon def. Hamilton 25-13, 23-25, 25-17, 25-22
Dillon: Kills: 36 (Charli Hazelbaker 12, Josey Jones 12). Assists: 32 (Madi Ruegsegger 28). Aces: 11 (Lauryn Petersen 3). Digs: 95 (Jessalyn Zimmerman 18, Ruegsegger 17). Blocks: 7 (Ainsley Shipman 2.5, Evey Hansen 2)
Hamilton: Kills: 34 (Camas Cratty 12, Emma Ellis 11). Assists: 30 (Taryn Searle 16, Katelyn Dickemore 14). Aces: 5 (Dickemore 2). Digs: 77 (Magdalena Ringer 25, Dickemore 18). Blocks: 5 (Cratty 3).
Hot Springs def. Victor 25-15, 25-7, 25-14
Hot Springs: Kills: 21 (Lily Winn 6, Katelyn Christensen 6). Assists: 17 (Sydney Jackson 16). Aces: 17 (Sage Jackson 6, Christensen 6). Digs: 22 (Sage Jackson 7, Savannah Roosma 6). Blocks: 5 (Lily Winn 2).
Victor: Kills: 5 (Haylea Wemple 2). Assists: 4 (Ashley Buchanan 3). Aces: 3 (Madi Barta 2). Digs: 32 (Ashley Buchanan 6). Blocks: 5 (Madi Bahr 4).
Darby def. St. Regis 25-12, 25-18, 25-22
St. Regis: Kills: 10 (Rylie Burnham 3). Assists: 22 (Baylee Pruitt 19). Aces: 15 (Pruitt 6). Digs: 27 (Pruitt 8, Taylor Hurd 8). Blocks: 9 (Kylee Thompson 3, Grace King 3).
Darby: Kills: 14 (Amber Anderson 4). Assists: 11 (Kimber Schlapman 8). Aces: 15 (Miriah Lingo 6). Digs: 21 (Madison Conner 9). Blocks: 6 (Ashley Bishop 2, Anderson 2).