It will be the worst of teams, it will be the best of teams for the Siuslaw Vikings, facing a pivotal week in Sky-Em League volleyball play.

Today, the Lady Vikings host last-place Elmira. Thursday, it's a trip to first-place Junction City. First serve for both is 6:30 p.m.

"This week should be interesting," Siuslaw coach Jonathan Hornung said Monday. "We had a solid practice today, and it's always a blast to play at home. So I'm really looking forward to see how the girls respond against Elmira."

Siuslaw takes a 6-5 overall record and 1-2 into this week's matches, which wrap up the first half of league play. Elmira is 4-5 and 0-3.

"I haven't seen them play, and don't know too much about them," Hornung said of the Lady Falcons. "We're just planning on playing our game, and we'll try not to worry who is across the net from us."

The Lady Vikings may not have the same luxury against Junction City, 8-2 overall, 3-0 in league and ranked No. 6 in Class 4A by the Oregon School Activities Association.

"Junction City will be a big test and will give us a lot of information about how far we've come this season," Hornung said. "I think if we play hard and play as a team we can push any team to their limit."

Siuslaw is coming off a tough loss this past Thursday at Marshfield. The Lady Pirates won 25-20, 25-21, 25-13 for their first league win.

"The Marshfield game wasn't entirely unexpected," Hornung said. "I knew it was going to be a tough match. Playing at Marshfield is always tough, and they tend to step up against us."

Vikings statistics vs. Marshfield:

KILLS (17) — Mia Collins 9, Desi Tupua 4, Hailee Outlaw 2, Zoe Alberty 1, Kya Blake 1.
ACES (2) — Desi Tupua 1, Zoe Alberty 1.
DIGS (38) — Hayden Muller 11, Mia Collins 9, Hailee Outlaw 6, Kya Blake 4, Lindsey Long 3, Zoe Alberty 3, Desi Tupua 2.
BLOCKS (2) — Mia Collins 1, Zoe Alberty 1.

NOTES

Jeremiah Tupua, the older brother of Siuslaw freshman Desi Tupua, has joined the Vikings coaching staff. … "He's back in Florence for a little while and he's been helping out with both JV and varsity," Hornung said. "It's been fun to have another adult to play against the girls, because now we can scrimmage adults versus the girls and I can step off and watch how the girls adjust to a big hitter." …

2019 SIUSLAW SCHEDULE
Record: 6-5 overall, 1-2 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 3, Siuslaw 0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-13)
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