Sylvia Lobuono - Student Writer

            The Oregon City girls volleyball team beat the Canby Cougars in a three game sweep. It was a big comeback: the Pioneers lost to the Cougars in their first league game. This win is a landmark for Oregon City, as their first league win this season. Overall, the team’s record is 6-11.

In the first two sets Oregon City was the clear leader. They kept a strong lead, staying ahead by an average of 5 points. The Pios were able to shut down Canby’s outside hitter Emilie Wilmes with a solid block.

Oregon City let up the third set, but picked it up for the last few points and ran away with the win. Canby had switched up their lineup to help the hitters avoid the block, but to no avail.

Junior Lindsey Keegan and seniors Sylvia Lobuono and Mykala Rubey had several kills from the right side and the middle of the court. The three put together the huge block on the outside.

Natalie Ferland and Sierra Veracruz served strong all three sets and held up the defense in the back row. Both had several aces. Coach Syd Yamasaki singled out Katie White and Veracruz for great defense.

The Pioneers had a team high hitting percentage this game, along with a high passing percentage. Practice is paying off for the young team, which has 6 sophomores this year and just 4 seniors.

Natalie Ferland said “The energy was really high the whole time. It really helped us come out on top.”

Aside from the win Thursday, The Pios have had a tough season. Yamasaki said, “We are a young team, but are consistently getting better every week. Now that we are in the midpoint of the season everything is starting to come together better. I think we will be able to pull off a couple more wins in league.”

Oregon City will play the Clackamas Cavaliers on Tuesday the 9th. The Cavs are ranked 3rd in the state and are undefeated in league so far.