The good news is that the Siuslaw Vikings volleyball team remains in second place in the Sky-Em League.

The bad news is that they had a great shot at sharing first place Tuesday, losing to first-place Cottage Grove at Glen Butler Court in five sets, 23-25, 13-25, 25-14, 25-21, 15-10.

"Well I'm bummed to report another loss," Siuslaw coach Kari Blake said. "We took Cottage Grove to five (sets) tonight but just couldn't come out on top."

Cottage Grove, 10-2 overall and ranked No. 6 in OSAA 4A, finished the first half of league play at 5-0.

The No. 8-ranked Lady Vikings, 8-5, retained a share of second place with Marshfield at 3-2 thanks to Junction City's five-set victory at Marshfield, 20-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 15-12.

Junior middle blocker Desi Tupua had a big night against the Lions with 17 kills, 6 blocks, 20 digs and 5 aces.

"Desi had an outstanding night," Blake said. "Desi really kept her cool throughout the match and was able to pick their defense apart."

The Lady Vikings' two six-foot freshmen —outside hitter Mylee Blake and middle blocker Rhianna Lane — had strong nights, Blake with 14 kills and Lane with 7 blocks.

Junior outside hitter Hailee Outlaw contributed 10 kills.

"The first two sets we were on fire," Kari Blake said. "The girls were covering the court well, and were just pounding the ball at them.

"They weren't easy earned points but the girls were playing some good ball against an aggressive Cottage Grove team. I thought we found our stride."

The match turned significantly in the third set, which was dominated by the Lions.

"We got behind early in the third and we just struggled to stay in it," Blake said. "We definitely weren't the same team.

"We tried to put that set behind us and move forward but we got off to another slow start in the fourth set.

"Coming into the fifth set, we just fell flat."

The Lady Vikings look to bounce back tomorrow (Thursday, Oct. 7) when they host Marist. First serve is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.

Siuslaw is 2-0 against the Lady Spartans this season, beating them 2-0 in the Sisters Tournament and 3-0 to open league play.

"Ultimately, we played some really great ball at times," Blake said, reflecting on the loss to the Lions, "but we also had a lot of errors on the books and the score reflected that.

"The girls started playing timid, making mistakes and unfortunately we just weren't able to overcome those challenges tonight."

SIUSLAW SCHEDULE
Record: 8-5 overall, 3-2 Sky-Em League
Aug. 31 — Siuslaw 3, Phoenix 0, at Sutherlin (25-18, 25-11, 25-16)
Aug. 31 — at Sutherlin 3, Siuslaw 2 (15-25, 14-25, 25-19, 25-11, 15-8)
Sept. 8 — at Pleasant Hill 3, Siuslaw 2 (23-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-22, 16-14)
Sept. 11 — at North Bend 3, Siuslaw 0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-22)
Sept. 18 — Siuslaw 2, Marist 0 (25-23, 25-22), at Sisters Tournament
Sept. 18 — Siuslaw 2, Vale 1 (25-16, 20-25, 15-9), at Sisters Tournament
Sept. 21 — Siuslaw 3, at Marist 0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-15)
Sept. 23 — Marshfield 3, at Siuslaw 2 (16-25, 25-19, 23-25, 26-24, 15-10)
Sept. 28 — Siuslaw 3, at Elmira 1 (20-25, 25-6, 25-18, 25-21)
Sept. 30 — at Siuslaw 3, Junction City 1 (25-23, 19-25, 25-21, 25-18)
Oct. 2 — Siuslaw 2, Klamath Union 0 (26-24, 25-9), at Junction City Tournament
Oct. 2 — Siuslaw 2, Junction City 1 (22-25, 25-5, 25-12), at Junction City Tournament
Oct. 5 — Cottage Grove 3, at Siuslaw 2 (23-25, 13-25 25-14, 25-21, 15-10)
Thursday, Oct. 7 — Marist, 6:45 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 12 — at Marshfield, 6:45 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 14 — Elmira, 6:45 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 16 — at Marshfield Tournament
Tuesday, Oct. 19 — at Junction City, 6:45 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 21 — at Cottage Grove, 6:45 p.m.
Coach: Kari Blake
Assistant: Kya Blake
JV coach: Aylenne Vasquez

SIUSLAW VARSITY ROSTER
  1 Kristin Wall, setter, sophomore, 4-11
  2 Hayden Muller, libero, senior, 5-3, co-captain
  3 Rhianna Lane, middle blocker, freshman, 6-0
  4 Mylee Blake, outside hitter, freshman, 6-0
  5 Meika Shappell, defensive specialist, sophomore, 5-0
  6 Desiree Tupua, middle blocker, junior, 5-8
  7 Hailee Outlaw, outside hitter, junior, 5-8
  8 Ashley Hennessee, right side, sophomore, 5-7
  9 Brynlee Manues, setter, sophomore, 5-4
10 Zoe Alberty, setter, senior, 5-7, co-captain
11 Alizabeth Norton, middle blocker, senior, 5-9
12 Ava Center, opposite hitter, sophomore, 5-5
13 Cate Waggoner, defensive specialist, sophomore, 5-2

SIUSLAW JUNIOR VARSITY
  1 Macali Ladę, defensive specialist, freshman
  2 Abigail Riggs, outside hitter, freshman, 5-3
  3 Jolee Erickson, libero, freshman
  4 Sydney Barnett, middle blocker, sophomore
  5 Makayla Bender, defensive specialist, freshman, 5-4
  7 Mesa Earls, outside hitter, freshman, 5-5
  8 Kimberly Martinez-Munoz, outside hitter, freshman, 5-7
11 Megan Alberty, setter, freshman, 5-6
12 Bailey Myrick, middle blocker, junior, 5-7
14 Mya Smith, sophomore, 5-3
15 Malaia Snider, middle blocker, sophomore
16 Brianna Pavesich, middle blocker, sophomore, 5-10
17 Jordyn Breeden, defensive specialist, freshman