BAKER VOLLEYBALL: Bulldogs sweep Nyssa

Published 5:16 pm Tuesday, September 24, 2024

The Baker volleyball swept Nyssa in a nonleague match Tuesday night, Sept. 24, in the Baker gym.

Baker won the JV match, 25-13, 25-22.

Varsity match

First set

Nyssa led 3-0 but Baker took control with a 5-0 run to lead 12-7. Baker extended its lead to 16-9 on Raegan Gulick’s kill, and she had another kill to make it 19-9.

Baker led 22-11 but Nyssa rallied briefly with a 4-1 to get within 23-15 and prompt Baker coach Ali Woodward to call timeout. Nyssa got as close as 24-22, culminating a 12-2 run, but Baker closed out the set 25-22 when Rupel, as setter, pushed a ball to the far corner and Nyssa couldn’t get it back.

Second set

Nyssa scored the first three points again, but Baker responded with 11 straight points, including four ace serves by Ashlyn Dalton. The set played out much like the first, with Baker taking a big lead, 20-8, on Rupel’s block, before Nyssa rallied to get as close as 22-15.

But Baker didn’t make this one quite so close, finishing the set 25-16 on kills by Olivia Jacoby and Kathryn Gentry.

Third set

This set was closer than the first two to start, as Nyssa rallied from a 6-3 deficit to tie it at 8 and stay within 10-9. Baker then scored four straight points, capped by Rupel’s kill, and Baker extended the lead to 21-12.

Baker finished off the sweep, 25-17, on Gentry’s kill.

Spectators were encouraged to wear green in honor of Abel Bain, the 7-year-old Baker City boy who was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Abel’s sister, Lexi Rupel, is a senior on the Baker team.

Up next

Baker travels to La Grande on Thursday, Sept. 26, for a key Greater Oregon League match at 6:30 p.m.