Sophomore Jolee Erickson has shown steady improvement all season and her contribution has increased as the season has progressed. She was an integral part of the Viking attack during their game against Creswell on Oct. 10 and had 6 kills when they faced Elmira two days later. Photos by Zac Burtt/Siuslaw News

Viks split 2 league games, wrap up regular season this week

Oct. 18, 2022 —The Vikings split two league volleyball games last week and faced some strong competition over the weekend to set up a dramatic finish to the regular season for Siuslaw.

Coming into their match on Oct. 10, Creswell sat one game ahead of Siuslaw in the Mountain Valley standings. Creswell also held the third place spot, and the top three teams in the standings go to the playoffs, making the match all the more important.  

Though Creswell took the match, the Vikings were relentless and battled hard all three sets, losing by just a few points each, 25-21, 26-24, 25-21.

Senior Desi Tupua had 14 kills and sophomore Rhianna Lane had 13 kills against Creswell.

Two days later, on Oct. 12, Siuslaw headed east on Highway 126 to face Elmira.

The Viks had little trouble with the last-place team in the league, sweeping the Falcons in three sets, 25-18, 25-21, 25-12.

Statistical leaders versus the Falcons include Tupua with 18 kills, Lane with 14 kills and 4 blocks. Sophomore Jolee Erickson added 6 kills against Elmira also.

After those two matches, Siuslaw sits in fourth place with a 6-4 record in league play, one game behind Creswell. The top three teams from the league will qualify for OSAA 3A Volleyball State Tournament, but the Vikings may have a path in even if they end up fourth.

The OSAA playoff qualifications rules state:

One additional team will qualify for the OSAA's 20-team bracket based on the OSAA rankings. Once the rankings are frozen, the next highest ranked team not already an automatic league qualifier will qualify as the At-Large team.

Through Tuesday, Oct. 18, the Viks are #12 and the highest-ranked fourth-place team in 3A. If the playoffs started today, they would be the at-large team.

Siuslaw played in a non-conference tournament at Marshfield over the weekend.

The Viks swept 4A Cottage Grove 2-0.

Next, they swept 3A Douglas 2-0.

Then Siuslaw split with Henley who is currently ranked #7 in 4A.

Finally, the Viks were swept 2-0 by 4A #9 Marist. The two games against Marist were very close, 25-22 and 25-20.

To say the Vikings will finish the regular season against some tough competition is an understatement.

Tuesday, Oct. 18 Siuslaw will host the top team in the 3A classification, Sisters. Then, on Thursday they will host 3A #2 Pleasant Hill.

The Mountain Valley conference will hold its league playoffs on Saturday at Pleasant Hill.

Most likely Siuslaw will arrive at the playoffs as the league’s #4 seed. If that is the case the Vikings will play in the first game of the day, at 10 a.m.

Watch the Siuslaw News and thesiuslawnews.com to stay updated on results and Siuslaw’s post season schedule.