Siuslaw Vikings volleyball coach Jon Hornung doesn't need a stats keeper to know how well his team is doing, but it helps.

That's why he welcomes the addition of Marissa Wells, the team's full-time manager.

"She's doing a great job, getting a lot of stats," Hornung said.

Know, for instance, that junior middle blocker Makenzie York had 18 kills Thursday as the Vikings opened their season by beating Junction City, 3-1.

York added 12 more kills later in a 3-0 loss to Philomath. She also had a total of 5 solo blocks and 8 block assists in the two matches.

Mia Collins had a dozen digs for the night, 6 in each game, while Jordan Long had 3 and 6 for a total of 9.

Collins also had 15 digs in two matches, 8 in the first match, 7 in the second.

Maci Wells had 8 aces for the night, all against Junction City.

"Clearly we have some things to work on, and we need to figure out a couple of positioning issues," Hornung said. "In general I was really happy with how hard everyone fought and the toughness that these girls showed in what turned out for a lot of them to be their first varsity match."

The Vikings opened with York, Alyssa Richards and Emma Collins along the net and Samantha Scheer, Mia Collins and Jordan Long in the back row.

Siuslaw opened by rolling in the first two sets, 25-17 and 25-18. Junction City battled back for a 29-27 win in the third set, before putting the Tigers away 25-18 in the fourth set.

Philomath, ranked No. 6 in Class 4A in the early season, beat the Vikings 25-22, 25-20, 25-20 for the Warriors' third sweep in a row.

"I think we did pretty well," Hornung said. "I was pleased to see that when things got tough they continued to do the things we've been preaching in practice and didn't revert back to old habits.

"Both setters (junior Samantha Scheer and sophomore Aylenne Vasquez) did a great job stepping into a big situation and not getting overwhelmed by the pace and pressure of varsity.

"Our middles were dominant, especially since this was our first (time) that they've played with both setters.

"Kendal (Robinson), Maci and Jordan all did great anchoring the back line on defense."

Hornung also took the loss by sweep to Philomath in stride.

"Our serve receive struggled at times, but started to get dialed in near the end of the second match," Hornung said. "I was really happy how receptive they were to me moving them around in the back and plugging girls into areas they not be familiar with."

The Vikings will continue to tinker Tuesday when they visit Elmira for a 6:30 p.m. match with the Falcons.

TEAM STATS
at Junction City, Thursday, Aug. 31

• Kills (35) — Makenzie York 18, Mia Collins 6, Emma Collins 3, Jordan Long 3, Alyssa Richards 3, Macalin Mason 2.
• Aces (16) — Maci Wells 8, Kendal Robinson 5, Jordan Long 2, Samantha Scheer 1.
• Digs (21) — Mia Collins 8, Kendal Robinson 5, Maci Wells 4, Jordan Long 3, Samantha Scheer 1.
• Block solos (5) — Makenzie York 2, Mia Collins 2, Alyssa Richards 1.
• Block assists (8) — Alyssa Richards 4, Mia Collins 2, Makenzie York 2.

vs. Philomath at Junction City, Thursday, Aug. 31

• Kills (27) — Makenzie York 12, Mia Collins 6, Jordan Long 6, Alyssa Richards 2, Maci Wells 1.
• Aces (5) — Makenzie York 4, Aylenne Vasquez 1.
• Digs (21) — Mia Collins 7, Jordan Long 5, Maci Wells 4, Makenzie York 3, Aylenne Vasquez 2.
• Block solos (5) — Makenzie York 3, Mia Collins 2.
• Block assists (8) — Makenzie York 4, Emma Collins 3, Alyssa Richards 1.

NOTES

Siuslaw (1-1) is ranked No. 17 in the early-season OSAA Class 4A ratings. ... Elmira (0-2) is No. 40 of 40 Class 4A schools. ...

South Umpqua (2-1) is the highest-ranked Far West League school at No. 12. Marshfield (2-2) is No. 14, North Bend (1-2) No. 24, Douglas (1-1) No. 28 and Brookings-Harbor (0-2) No. 38. ...

The Vikings' first home match of the season is their Far West League opener Tuesday, Sept. 12, against Marshfield. Game time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ...

VIKINGS LOG
Record: 1 win, 1 loss
Nonleague

• Aug. 31 — Siuslaw 3, Junction City 1, 25-17, 25-18, 27-29, 25-18
• Aug. 31 — Philomath 3, Siuslaw 0, 25-22, 25-20, 25-20
• Tuesday, Sept. 5 — at Elmira, 6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, Sept. 7 — at Pleasant Hill, 6:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Sept. 9 — at Canby Tournament
• Saturday, Sept. 23 — at Sisters Invitational
• Saturday, Sept. 30 — at Junction City Tournament
• Saturday, Oct. 14 — at Marshfield Tournament

Far West League

• Tuesday, Sept. 12 — Marshfield, 6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, Sept. 14 — at Brookings-Harbor, 6:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, Sept. 19 — at Douglas, 6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, Sept. 21 — North Bend, 6:30
• Tuesday, Sept. 26 — South Umpqua, 6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, Sept. 28 — at Marshfield, 6:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 3 — Brooking-Harbor, 6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, Oct. 5 — Douglas, 6:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 10 — at North Bend, 6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, Oct. 12 — at South Umpqua, 6:30 p.m.

VARSITY ROSTER

• 1 Jordan Long, outside hitter, junior, 5-6
• 3 Maci Wells, libero, senior co-captain, 5-1
• 4 Samantha Scheer, setter, junior, 5-1
• 5 Mia Collins, middle blocker/outside hitter, sophomore, 6-0
• 7 Emma Collins, outside hitter/right side, senior co-captain, 6-0
• 8 Aylenne Vasquez, setter, sophomore, 5-2
• 9 Kendal Robinson, libero/outside hitter, sophomore, 5-6
• 10 Macalin Mason, right side/outside hitter, junior, 5-6
• 12 Alyssa Richards, right side/outside hitter, junior, 5-8
• 13 Abby Coday, right side, senior, 5-11
• 14 Makenzie York, middle blocker, junior co-captain, 6-0