West Linn volleyball opens with sweep of Lakeridge

And away we go.

The 2024 Three Rivers League volleyball season kicked off on Tuesday, Sept. 10, with West Linn stepping up to battle past Lakeridge 28-26, 25-21, 25-17 at West Linn High School.

“I feel that my team played great tonight,” said West Linn senior outside hitter Alexa Cornell, who tied for team-high honors in kills against the Pacers. “We really stepped up our game after the first set.”

“I think there were definitely some nerves at the beginning of the (night), but once our team got settled in, we played much better,” added Lion senior setter Allie Hawk, who led her team with five blocks.

With the win, the Lions’ third straight, West Linn improved to 1-0 in TRL play and 4-1 overall. Next up, the Lions play at Sprague on Saturday, Sept. 14, then return to TRL action when they host Tualatin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17.

Lakeridge, meanwhile, lost for the first time, saw its two-match winning streak snapped and fell to 0-1 in league play and 2-1 overall. Next up, the Pacers play at Tigard at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, then face crosstown rival Lake Oswego at Lake Oswego High School on 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17.

"I feel that we played really well and hard throughout the first two sets, (but) as we got to the third, we got tired and lost our energy," said Lakeridge junior outside hitter Jaslyn Reed, who tied for team-high honors in kills.

"I feel like our team played well in the first set and with a lot of energy," added Pacer junior middle blocker Olivia Olsen, who led her team in blocks. "In the next two sets, we lost our energy, which was tough for us to come back from."

While Lakeridge eventually fell short against West Linn, the Pacers pushed the Lions – and hard – in the night’s first set. Indeed, Lakeridge took a 24-22 lead when junior outside hitter Mia Fitzgerald took a set from freshman Katie Markstaller and made a kill through the West Linn block from the right side.

But the Lions rallied from there, got clutch serving from junior Heidi Goehring, then tied the set at 26-26 on a tip by junior Amelia Haj, took the lead on a tip by Hawk and won 28-26 on a Lakeridge error.

While Lakeridge - which got five first-set kills from junior outside hitter Jaslyn Reed and four more from Fitzgerald – continued to challenge the Lions in the second and third sets, West Linn came through late in each to win 25-21, 25-17.

“I think the key to the final result was just being smart with our shots and focusing more on our serving,” Hawk said.

“I think we got past our nerves and just played loose,” Cornell added. “We improved our communication and stayed positive.”

For their part, the Pacers vowed to learn from the loss and come back stronger.

"The key to the final result was the loss of our energy, not communicating and not playing as a team," Olsen said.

"The final result was just the fact that we lost our energy and excitement to be there," Reed added.

Cornell finished with eight kills, five digs and three aces, Haj had six kills and three aces, junior Kennedy Toomer notched eight kills, and freshman libero Audrina Peia recorded eight digs.

Fitzgerald tied Reed for Lakeridge's lead kills, while Markstaller led the team in aces and Holder paced the Lakeridge defense and led the team in digs.