COTTAGE GROVE – The Lions have followed up a strong preseason performance in the 2nd annual North Star Volleyball Jamboree with an undefeated start through two weeks of the regular season.
Cottage Grove defeated the Molalla Indians 3-0 last week, and head coach Abby Ladd said that maintaining high standards and continuous improvement is all part of the current streak of success.
“Our goal going into any game is to play at our level no matter who we’re playing,” she said. “Because we know that going into the league this year, we need to be preparing for competition. The team has high goals for going to state, and in order to get there, we can’t take any games off.”
It’s official: the Lions have built a strong, and stable foundation.
Cottage Grove has seen an ebb and flow in recent years with their fortunes. After earning a state-runner up spot 2018, the Lions saw a shift in the program after the Covid pandemic and struggled to reach the same results.
“That’s also when I took over as head coach,” said Ladd, who took over for Kendra Anderson in 2020. “So we went through those changes. But then in 2021, in my second year as head coach, we had a really strong, successful group, and then we kind of ebbed a little bit.
“And so now we’re kind of building back again to the culture that we’re looking for and the ability to play volleyball at that high, intense level,” she said.
The Lions earned a league title in Sky-Em on their way to the state tournament in 2021. Since then, it’s been difficult to keep up in the competitive league. Especially with Marshfield and Marist Catholic reigning as the top two teams in Class 4A for the past two years.
“Junction City and North Bend also are very strong competitors,” Ladd said. “There is no weak link in our league.”
In order to build momentum to “attack the Sky-Em League,” Ladd demands that the Lions play “every single game intensely.” That’s the mindset that was on display against Molalla (1-4), a team the Lions blew out last season. Ladd said she doesn’t want the team to back down.
“We make sure that they stay diligent, staying intense, even if we have a big score difference,” she said. “We don’t want that to affect the way that we play and we fight like it’s game point every time.”
The Lions also recently beat Creswell in a regular-season match. The teams had faced off at the volleyball jamboree, but their game was cut short with the score 11-10 when one of Creswell’s players suffered an injury and the Bulldogs forfeited.
The Lions won 3-1 when the teams met each other last week.
Head coach Abby Ladd sees a dedicated, ambitious team ready to make an impact this season. PHOTOS PROVIDED / CGHS YEARBOOK
“We have a very dynamic group of girls this year where we can move our players around to different positions,” Ladd said. “We were able to kind of adjust what our offense looked like to throw off Creswell’s defense. One of our goals going into that game was to put pressure on them in our serves, and to not let them get in our heads, and to play our game no matterwho we’re playing.”
Ladd also attributed the recent success to the “buy-in” during the offseason. More specifically, participating in Guy Enriques’ “Team Camp” this summer is paying dividends, Ladd said. She explained at the North Star jamboree that it’s a camp tailored toward uplifting young girls and their mental development.
Senior Jayda Bruner has been at the camp since her sophomore year. She said the camp fosters a strong team spirit and positive environment, which has significantly improved the group over the past few years.
“We’ve built such a good connection at that camp,” Bruner said. “It really brought us together and made us a team that wants it more than the other teams. Also, the camp actually taught me how to love myself and love who I am and myself as a player and as a person. When I was a freshman, I didn’t have any positive thoughts. I was very negative to myself, and now I don’t see that in me anymore, and I really know who I am as a woman, and that’s all from Guy Enriques'”
“This team is at a place right now where most of them have been in the program long enough and have kind of bought into the culture really well of staying positive, staying good teammates, and always looking to improve and doing it together as a team,” Ladd said.
Other schools…
Creswell finished 4-4 last week. It began with a 3-0 loss to Class 4A Cottage Grove. Leaders for Creswell were Piper Hanson with 30 kills and 25 digs; Rylee Cline recorded 36 assists and Marley Query had 11 kills and 8 digs. On Thursday, the Dawgs won 3-0 at Glide. Hanson had 27 kills and 30 digs, Query had 15 kills and 19 digs, and Stella Shaw with four kills six digs and one block. Creswell traveled to the Sisters Tournament to finish the week. It defeated Madras, Phoenix, and split with Santiam Christian in pool play. In bracket play, Creswell defeated Madras 25–22 and 25–23. Creswell faced Henley in the next round and lost 23-25 and 14-25.
Pleasant Hill finished last week 0-3. It started with a 3-0 loss to Class 4A Cottage Grove on Thursday, then a 3-1 loss to Douglas and a 3-0 loss to 4A Marshfield. Springfield went 0-2 last week against 4A Junction City and Midwestern League opponent Churchill. Lastly, began the Midwestern League last week against the Ashland Grizzlies on the road. The Grizzlies won 3-1.
PREVIEWS
4 COTTAGE GROVE (4-0)
■ Setting up: The Lions head to the North Marion tournament this weekend. This should provide a respite for the Lions before the intense Sky-Em League begins, which begins on Tuesday against Marist Catholic. Head coach Abby Ladd hopes to “attack the league this year.”
14 CRESWELL (4-4)
■ Setting up: The Bulldogs kick off the Mountain Valley Conference play this Thursday against Sisters. Then the Bulldogs head to battle against rival Pleasant Hill on Tuesday. Look for Piper Hanson and Rylee Cline.
7 PLEASANT HILL (3-3)
■ Setting up: The Billies have a busy schedule of Mountain Valley Conference ahead of them. They kick it off this Thursday against Elmira, head to Marist for a tournament on Saturday, and then battle rival Creswell on Tuesday. Despite being in a rebuilding year, the Billies have been staying afloat. Look for Rylee Needham, Jordy Crawford and Mallie McBride.
29 SPRINGFIELD (1-3)
■ Setting it up: The Millers kick-start the Midwestern League against Ashland this Thursday. Following that, they’ll head to the Marist Catholic Invitational this weekend. New head coach Andrea Barrera is focusing on cultivating a healthy mindset this year.
23 THURSTON (1-3)
■ Setting it up: The Colts hit the road to Crater to play the Comets on Thursday. Following that they face visiting Churchill on Tuesday. The Colts look to regain their status as they’ve gone on a recent losing streak
