A Well Matched Game

At A Glance:
Who: Sprague volleyball team
What: Game versus North Salem
When: Tuesday October 20, 2009
Where: Sprague High School
Why: Game play
Next Game: OSAA playoffs 2nd round @ 7:00 against Canby
Results: Sprague won
Scores: 14-25, 13-25, 22-25

Tuesday October 20, 2009 the Sprague Olympians varsity volleyball team took on the North Salem Vikings. Each match was incredibly close but Sprague ended up taking home the win due to thier impeccable teamwork. This win helped Sprague move closer to getting into the playoffs. Both teams fought incredibly hard and worked together till the very end and both skill levels were equally matched. Sprague's 2009 varsity team has a record so far of 9-1. North seemed a little psyched out seeing as Sprague was last years Central Valley Conference winners. The entire game kept you on the edge. It makes your heart race and your body clinches, you can only imagine how the players were feeling. With every hit the crowd would watch intently hoping their team would get it over and score the point.

Despite North’s effort, Sprague over took them winning three out of five games. The girls worked together really well and came together as a team, which was one of the main factors that helped them win. Some of the top players of this game were Kaleigh Nelson and Emily Oslie, both seniors at sprague, had some amazing blocks against the other team.

After the game Jessie Wright, one of Sprague’s assistant coaches and a player on last year's varsity team, told me that in order to win the next game “the girls need to communicate better and be more confident in themselves and in their skills.” The team didn’t talk very much or even very loud and that’s when they started making mistakes because some of the team didn’t know what was going on.

Saydie Leach, a former student at Sprague, shared with me that some of the teams strengths were that they helped each other out “if one girl messed up or didn’t get where they needed to be another one was there to step up and get the ball over the net.” She really enjoyed that the teams were so evenly matched. “Those games are the best because you never know what’s going to happen.”

Another crowd member was Kayla Kiger, a freshman and Chemeketa and also a former student at Sprague. She told me that she “watched a lot of games last year and this year's team really needs to work on their blocking.” She also added that the girls fell into the net a lot and need to work on digging the ball out. Although Sprague did win they have a few things that they need to work on if the want to continue on a winning streak. Wright also shared that she loves “watching the girls play because they have fun and such enthusiasm.” I’d have to say I agree, these girls play hard and leave their hearts on the court. If you enjoy watching a well matched game, go to the next Sprague game which is the 2nd round of the OSAA playoff's at 7:00pm against Canby @ Canby.