HEPPNER — Top-ranked Heppner has been on a roll as of late, and its dominance on the court continued Saturday as the Mustangs beat Blue Mountain Conference rival Weston-McEwen 25-21, 25-17, 25-23 in the district championship game to win their first district title since 2012.
“There was a little bit of hesitation this year, not wanting the same thing that happened last year,” said Heppner coach Mindy Wilson, whose team lost to Weston-McEwen in the title match in 2025. “Heppner has a history of getting down a few points and giving up. This team battles and they don’t give up until the last point.”
Heppner (21-2), which has won 14 matches in a row, will have a bye in the first round of the 2A state playoffs and will host the winner of Union and Santiam on Oct. 31.
Weston-McEwen (16-5) also will have a bye and will host the winner of the Nestucca-North Douglas match on Oct. 31.
Irrigon (15-7), the No. 3 seed from the BMC, will host Lost River in the first round on Oct. 28.
In the first set of the title match, Heppner had small leads of three, four and five points, and led 16-13 when Bree Perkins went to the service line for the TigerScots.
Perkins, with the help of Charlotte Hansell up front, tied the score at 16-16, and gave Weston-McEwen a 17-16 lead. Perkins sailed a serve out of play to hand the ball back to the Mustangs.
The teams played to ties of 18-18, 19-19 and 21-21 before Heppner closed out the set with Olivia Ogden at the service line.
Maya Payne tipped the ball over the net, W-M had an illegal hit, Ogden served up an ace, and Catherine Lindsay had a kill to seal the win.
In the second set, Weston-McEwen had a small lead early, but Healy Hisler pulled the Mustangs out of a 3-2 deficit with four consecutive points for a 6-3 lead. They would not trail again.
Heppner never held more than a five-point lead, and led 22-17 when Cici Stefani went to the service line.
The Mustangs took advantage of a W-M ball in the net and two kills by Isa Payne to take a 2-0 lead.
The TigerScots had 12 unforced errors in the second set, killing long rallies that ended with points for the Mustangs.
After playing to a 7-7 tie in the third set, Hansell reeled off four points for an 11-7 W-M lead. The TigerScots held a slim lead until a misplayed ball gave Heppner the serve.
Payne reeled off five consecutive points, including an ace, for a 21-18 lead. Heppner would not trail again, but let the TigerScots pull within one point.
A net serve by Avree Lathrop and two unforced errors by Lindsay helped W-M pull within 24-23.
Lindsay redeemed herself with a kill to seal the win.
“It’s a game of unforced errors, and we had more than them today,” said W-M coach Marie Cain, whose team had 13 unforced errors in the third set.
Wilson said the match was competitive from the outset.
“Both sides are good all the way around,” she said. “It was an even matchup and neither of us wanted to give in. It’s great to have good competition, especially this close to the end of the season.”
Isa Payne led the Mustangs with 11 kills and 20 digs, while Lindsay had eight kills and three digs, Latrop five kills and 14 digs, Stefani 12 digs and three aces, Maya Payne 22 assists and 10 digs, and Ogden 12 digs and three aces.
“We’ve got a good group of girls to set to,” Wilson said. “Some teams have two or three, our setter has five at a time. That makes a huge difference. We have a whole team and they support each other out there.”
For the TigerScots, Hansell had 15 kills and 20 digs, while Addy Hall had 28 assists and 16 digs, Eloise Hansell seven kills and 16 digs, Reagan Pickard four kills and four blocks, Perkins 14 digs, Megan McLouth 10 digs, and Elsie Sprenger two kills and four digs.
WESTON-MCEWEN 3, IRRIGON 0 — The TigerScots punched their ticket to the Blue Mountain Conference district title game with a 25-17, 25-14, 25-15 victory over Irrigon at Heppner High School.
“I’m very proud of them,” Irrigon coach Brenda Burring said of her players. “Our goal was to be ranked in the top 10, which we were, and make it to district. I feel like we can compete with Weston and Heppner. Our girls just have to have the right mindset.”
The Knights played right with the TigerScots early in each set, but once Weston-McEwen took a small lead, Irrigon began to make small but costly mistakes.
“We couldn’t get over that mental hurdle in our head,” Burright said. “When we got back, there was too much of a gap.”
Charlotte Hansell led the TigerScots with 17 kills, 15 digs and two aces, while Addy Hall had 26 assists, 21 digs and four kills, Bree Perkins 18 digs and two aces, Eloise Hansell 15 digs and four kills, Megan McLouth seven digs, Elsie Sprenger three kills and one block, and Kayli Choin two blocks.
For the 11th-ranked Knights (15-7), Claire Mueller had 16 digs and 11 kills, while Lexi Covarrubias had 19 digs, and Shianne Claassen 12 digs.
Old Oregon League
POWDER VALLEY 3, PILOT ROCK 0 — The Badgers (18-13) finished third at the Old Oregon League district tournament with a 25-20, 25-17, 25-17 victory over the Rockets at Baker High School.
“I’m so unbelievably proud of this team,” Pilot Rock coach Shelby Journot said. “They fought hard and pushed through the day and made it out fourth at the tournament even with some minor injuries and lineup changes. We have come so far and I’ve seen so much improvement from all these girls. These girls have made this season so much fun and I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given. These girls have given me so much to be proud of.”
Gracee Hemphill led the Rockets (8-16) with five kills and 16 dogs, while Stevee Osborn had five kills, Abbigail Johnson 20 digs and two aces, and Kessa Litfin 10 digs, two blocks and nine assists.
JOSEPH 3, PILOT ROCK 0 — The sixth-ranked Eagles, who won the Old Oregon League regular-season title with a 10-0 record, beat the Rockets 25-12, 25-10, 25-13 in the OOL district tournament semifinals at Baker High School.
Gracee Hemphill had 13 digs and two kills for Pilot Rock, while Stevee Osborn had three kills, Abbigail Johnson 11 digs and two aces, Haylee Lawhead 13 digs, and Kessa Litfin nine digs, eight assists and two kills.
PILOT ROCK 3, GRISWOLD 1 — After dropping two matches to the Grizzlies during the regular season, the Rockets came away with a win when they needed it most, beating Griswold 26-28, 25-21, 25-16, 26-24 in the first round of the Old Oregon League district tournament at Baker High School.
Stevee Osborn led Pilot Rock with 11 kills, 16 digs, three aces and two blocks, while Gracee Hemphill had 10 kills, 31 digs and five aces, Jada Deist six kills and 21 digs, Kessa Litfin seven kills, 16 digs, three blocks and 28 assists, and Abigail Bensel six kills and two blocks.
The Grizzlies (11-13), making an appearance at the district tournament for the first time in eight years, won the OOL Sportsmanship Award.
Friday Rockets take down Stanfield
PILOT ROCK — Freshman quarterback Nathan Endersby threw for four touchdowns to lead Pilot Rock to a 52-6 win over Stanfield in a nonleague game Friday night.
“The boys all played really well,” Pilot Rock coach Shane Munkers said. “We only had 12 players tonight so that forced some younger kids to step up and they did a great job.”
Endersby’s first touchdown pass went for 30 yards to Boston McCall. TayVen Warren then scored on a 60-yard run, followed by touchdown passes to McCall for 15 yards and Logan Gourlie for 13 yards.
Pilot Rock (3-5) led 30-6 at the half.
In the second half, Warren scored on a 65-yard run, Gourlie on a 47-yard run, and Lucas Thieme finished the scoring with a 42-yard touchdown catch. Gourlie, Thieme and Dakota Enriquez all had nine tackles for the Rockets.
