Siuslaw's volleyball victory Tuesday over Marist Catholic was a tale of two sets, one of unbelievable loss and one of redemption.

It turned out to be a happy story of victory for the Lady Vikings, who scored a 3-1 Sky-Em League win over the Lady Spartans at Glenn Butler Court.

Siuslaw won 25-16, 29-28, 23-25, 25-18. The Lady Vikings were on the cusp of a sweep, but squandered third-set leads of 13-2 and 18-7.

"I was super worried about how we would respond in the fourth set," Siuslaw coach Jonathan Hornung said. "But the girls impressed, and we served tough and opened up an 18-13 lead and finished off the match.

"Marist was a solid team and they made us work for points. They scrapped really well and didn't make a lot of mistakes."

Siuslaw improved to 6-4 overall, 1-1 in league and ranked No. 13 in Class 4A by the Oregon School Activities Association.

Thursday, the Lady Vikings play at Marshfield (7-6, 0-2, OSAA No. 14). First serve is 6:30 p.m.

But first allow the team to savor a nice win over a brand opponent.

"We started the third set on fire," Hornung said. "It showed a lot of heart for the girls to come out after giving up a big lead and take it to Marist in the fourth set."

The Vikings coach couldn't help but spread the praise.


"Desi Tupua had a great match with a team high 12 kills," Hornung said. "Her middle hitting counterpart, Elissa Hurley, also had a huge match with 11 kills.

"Our middles paced our offense, which is not what any of us expected this season, but both Elissa and Desi have been working so hard in practice to get better and it shows on the court.

"When both of them are hitting well it opens up our outside hitters, and both Mia Collins and Kay Blake had 10 kills.

"Zoe Alberty set one of the best matches of her career and she also had three kills off tips that came at critical times late in sets.

"Lindsey Long and Hayden Muller again anchored the back line and didn't let a lot of balls hit the floor. Hayden had 19 digs and Lindsey had seven.

"And one of the biggest surprises of the last few matches is how well Hailee Outlaw has been playing. She stepped into the starting lineup several weeks ago when we had an injury and she had her best match of the year with five kills on only 11 swings. She also provides a ton of versatility because she can set in transition and off of serve receive."

In other league matches Thursday, Marist Catholic is at Junction City (7-2, 2-0) and Cottage Grove (6-5, 2-0) is at Elmira (4-4, 0-2).

2019 SIUSLAW SCHEDULE
Record: 6-4 overall, 1-1 Sky-Em League, 5-3 nonleague
Sky-Em League
Thursday, Sept. 19 — at Cottage Grove 3, Siuslaw 2 (21-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-10, 15-10)
Tuesday, Sept. 24 — at Siuslaw 3, Marist Catholic 1 (25-16, 29-27, 23-25, 25-18)
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.
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 3, at Siuslaw 2 (25-27, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22, 15-13)
Saturday, Sept. 21 — Siuslaw 2, Henley 1 (16-25, 25-15, 15-10), at Sisters Tournament
Saturday, Sept. 21 — Siuslaw 2, Estacada 1 (15-25, 25-22, 15-13), at Sisters Tournament
Saturday, Sept. 21 — La Grande 2, Siuslaw 0 (25-15, 25-15), at Sisters Tournament
Saturday, Oct. 5 — at Junction City Tournament
Saturday, Oct. 19 — at Marshfield Tournament

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