Lady Vikings rework lineup for Sutherlin

Siuslaw volleyball coach Jon Hornung.

The Siuslaw Vikings volleyball team has won its past three matches by 3-0 sweeps.

Thursday, the Lady Vikings host the 3A Sutherlin Bulldogs, who are 1-4 and losers of their last four, three by sweeps.

Easy, peasy, right?

Don't tell that to Vikings coach Jon Hornung.

"We're expecting a tough match with Sutherlin," he said. "They're usually a solid team, and I'm expecting that we will need to come out firing to knock them off their game."

The Lady Vikings will be reworking their lineup yet again, losing another player to a non-volleyball related injury.

"We've had to change our game plan for both JV and varsity," Hornung said, "so hopefully everything runs smoothly and no one gets hurt!"

Senior Elissa Hurley has moved to the middle, with senior Mia Collins and junior Kya Blake handling outside hitter duties.

Sophomore libero Hayden Muller and junior defensive specialist Lindsey Long will anchor the back row.

It also will be the first home match for promising freshman Desi Tupua, whose injury in the opener at North Bend swung the match to the 5A Bulldogs.

"We've had some bad luck with injuries, but the girls have been really great about adapting to different players on the court," Hornung said, "and they've also been really accepting of me moving them to positions that they may not enjoy as much as their original positions."

Freshman Hailiee Outlaw and sophomore Zoe Alberty will set the table for the big hitters.

"The girls have been communicating well at practice and we've really been working hard at building each other up on the court regardless of what is going on," Hornung said.

"If they stay positive and play our game we should be competitive. I'm really looking forward to playing on our home court again in front of the school year crowd. The girls were super excited at team dinner tonight, and I hope we can deliver!"

First serve at Glenn Butler Court is 6:30 p.m.

The match is the final tuneup for Sky-Em League play, which begins Thursday, Sept. 19, at Cottage Grove.

2019 SIUSLAW SCHEDULE
Record: 3-1 overall, 0-0 Sky-Em League, 3-1 nonleague
Nonleague
Thursday, Aug. 29 — at North Bend 3, Siuslaw 2 (16-25, 25-18, 19-25, 25-19, 15-13)
Friday, Aug. 30 — Siuslaw 3, Bandon 0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-10)
Friday, Aug. 30 — Siuslaw 3, Douglas 0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-11)
Thursday, Sept. 5 — Siuslaw 3, at Pleasant Hill 0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-10)
Thursday, Sept. 12 — Sutherlin, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 21 — at Sisters Tournament
Saturday, Oct. 5 — at Junction City Tournament
Saturday, Oct. 19 — at Marshfield Tournament
Sky-Em League
Thursday, Sept. 19 — at Cottage Grove, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 24 — Marist Catholic, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 26 — at Marshfield, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 1 — Elmira, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 3 — at Junction City, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 8 — Cottage Grove, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 10 — at Marist Catholic, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 15 — Marshfield, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 17 — at Elmira, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 22 — Junction City, 6:30 p.m.

2019 SIUSLAW VARSITY ROSTER

1 Lindsey Long, 5-2 junior, defensive specialist
2 Hayden Muller, 5-2 sophomore, libero
3 Hailee Outlaw, 5-8 freshman, setter
5 Mia Collins, 6-0 senior, outside hitter
6 Desi Tupua, 5-8 freshman, middle blocker
7 Delaney Foglio, 5-8 junior, middle blocker
9 Zoe Alberty, 5-7 sophomore, setter
10 Elissa Hurley, 5-8 senior, right side
11 Kya Blake, 5-9 junior, outside hitter