BAKER VOLLEYBALL: Bulldogs beat rival La Grande in four sets

Published 6:15 pm Thursday, September 26, 2024

The Baker volleyball team traveled to La Grande Thursday, Sept. 26, for a key Greater Oregon League match against the rival Tigers, and the Bulldogs prevailed in four sets.

Baker improved to 1-1 in league play. La Grande is 0-1.

Baker won the JV match 25-8, 25-21, 25-21.

Varsity match

First set

Baker overcame a poor start, falling behind 13-4 but then scoring 12 straight points on Taylor Churchfield’s serve. Sydney Penning had a kill, and Raegan Gulick a kill on an overpass, during the scoring run.

Baker closed out the set, 25-21, on Penning’s kill from the middle.

Second set

Baker took an early lead, as libero Lilly Wilson made several diving digs and one-arm saves to keep rallies going. Baker scored six straight points, again on Churchfield’s serve, to lead 13-5. La Grande rallied with four straight points. Baker then scored six of the next nine points, including kills by Jaxyn Ramos and two by Lexi Rupel, to boost the lead to 19-12 and force a La Grande timeout.

An Ashlyn Dalton ace serve continued the Baker run. La Grande made one final run, getting as close as 23-18, but Baker closed out the set, 25-18, on Churchfield’s ace serve.

Third set

La Grande led from the start, and Baker couldn’t put together the extended scoring runs that it had in the first two sets. La Grande won the set 25-15 to force a fourth set.

Fourth set

Baker rallied after trailing by as many as five points, at 14-9. Ramos ended the run with a block, and Hanson had an ace serve as part of a Baker run to take a 17-15 lead. After La Grande regained the lead at 18-17, the score was tied at 19, and Gulick gave Baker the lead for good at 20-19 with a tip kill. Rupel closed out the set, and match, on a kill, 25-21.

Baker coach Ali Woodward said she was impressed with her team’s ability to deal with the inevitable emotion of playing a rival on their home floor.

Woodward said Churchfield’s “phenomenal serving” during the comeback in the first set was a key sequence.

Baker’s serving overall was better than in recent matches, Woodward said.

Wilson’s performance in the back row, where she sprawled out full length multiple times for digs, energized the entire team.

“Nobody on either side of the court ever outworks her,” Woodward said of Wilson. “She’s super fun to watch. She leads by example, and the team responds to that.”

Up next

Baker is off for a week, returning to league play by traveling to Ontario on Thursday, Oct. 3.