ATHENA — In the tough Blue Mountain Conference, No. 8 Weston-McEwen moved into second place in the conference standings with a 25-22, 25-16, 25-14 win over fifth-ranked Irrigon.
“We wanted to make sure we played aggressive both offensively and defensively tonight,” Weston-McEwen coach Marie Cain said. “Proud of the team for taking care of it in three sets.
The Knights (12-4 overall, 2-2 BMC), who have won eight of their past 10 matches, had a tough time from the start.
“If there was one night where everybody struggled, it was tonight,” Irrigon coach Brenda Burright said. “We just couldn’t get in a rhythm and could not get anything started.”
Senior Charlotte Hansell dominated at the net for the TigerScots (11-4, 3-2) with 26 kills and 12 digs, while Addy Hall and 35 assists and three kills, Kayli Choin four blocks and three kills, Bree Perkins 15 digs, and Eloise Hansell 14 digs and six kills.
“Bree Perkins anchored our defense in the back row,” Cain said. “She’s been working hard on that. Char was a dominating presence at the net, giving us some great offensive runs.”
Claire Mueller led Irrigon with 10 kills and 11 digs, while Lexi Covarrubias had 16 digs, and Shianne Claassen 13 digs.
Weston-McEwen will host Ione/Arlington on Wednesday, then will return to BMC play Thursday, hosting Stanfield.
Irrigon will play Thursday at top-ranked Heppner.
PENDLETON 3, LA GRANDE 0 — The Bucks ran their win streak to six games with a 25-10, 25-18, 25-13 Greater Oregon League win over the Tigers.
“The whole bench got in tonight and it was fun to see everyone shine tonight,” Pendleton coach Jodi Primus said.
Pendleton (11-9 overall, 4-0 GOL) has swept all four league matches this season without giving up a set.
The Bucks are 2-0 against the Tigers and the teams will play once more on Oct. 20 in La Grande.
MJ Gomez led the Pendleton wth 14 kills and 15 digs, while Caitlin Cooley handed out 26 assists. Braelyn Gunter and Kelsi Primus each added eight kills, while Addie Willman had 10 assists, McLinley Moore 26 digs, and Gunter and Olivia Allen each had six aces.
Pendleton will play Ontario on Thursday at Nyssa High School, followed by a match with the Bulldogs.
UMATILLA 3, PILOT ROCK 2 — The Vikings needed five sets, but came away with a 25-22, 15-25, 25-22, 17-25, 15-9 nonleague home win over the Rockets.
Quinnan Casebier had five aces and four kills for Umatilla (5-12), while Rylee Griggs had four aces, and Bianca Espinoza five kills.
For the Rockets (5-10), Gracee Hemphill had 30 digs, seven kills, and three aces, while Abbigail Johnson had 41 digs, Kessa Litfin 16 digs, and 15 assists, Stevee Osborn five kills, Jada Deist eight aces and Haylee Lawhead 11 digs.
“We played tough tonight through some wild moments,” PR coach Shelby Journot said. “Need to fine tune a few things, but we keep doing some great things together as a team.”
Boys soccer
MCLOUGHLIN 7, PENDLETON 0 — Sebastian Borges had four goals to lead the Pioneers to a nonleague home win over the Bucks.
“We had an excellent first half,” Mac-Hi coach Victor Corona said. “We were able to pass the ball and create chances with efficiency, which led to goals.”
Mac-Hi (8-1 overall), which has won five games in a row, led 6-0 at the half.
“The second half, we were eager to score and found ourselves struggling,” Corona said. “Overall, we are satisfied with the result, but not content. We will make some adjustments to correct that and will continue to work hard. Happy with the defense, which has allowed only two goals in our season, so far.”
Brandon Castillo, Mason Harshfield and Adrain Gomez also scored goals for Mac-Hi, while Gomez and Santiago Banderas had assists. Enrique Romero posted the shutout.
For Pendleton (1-7-1), goalkeeper Thor Case finished with 12 saves.
The Bucks will play Thursday at La Grande.
Girls soccer
PENDLETON 2, MCLOUGHLIN 1 — Avery Tynkila scored two goals in the second half to rally the Bucks to a nonleague home win over the Pioneers.
Freshman McKenna Zimmerman assisted on one goal, while the other came on a breakaway.
“McKenna played an amazing game and earned herself a permanent spot on the varsity roster,” Pendleton coach Katherine Ryder said.
Goalkeeper Autumn Severe finished with three saves for the Bucks (3-5-1), while Sophia Estrada had one.
“Sophia also had several instances where she stopped long passes at the top of the 18, denying potential shot attempts,” Ryder said.
Julia Estrada scored for the Pioneers (2-6-2) off an assist by Dani Meza in the first half. “We started off strong, creating chances in the first half,” Mac-Hi coach Arnie Alvarez said. “Second half started off close and we knew Pendleton was going to be more offensive. Tried to get a few more shots, but props to Pendleton for defending our attack.”
