Imbler and Wallowa find success at tournaments

The Imbler volleyball team traveled to the Pine Eagle tournament and finished very well. The Panthers won the tournament title defeating Crane in the championships.

“We played very well,” Imbler head coach Jennifer Teeter said. “We faced good competition and played lots of volleyball.”

The Panthers won their pool, sweeping all of preliminary games. Imbler opened with a 20-7 win over the host, Pine Eagle.

In bracket play, the Panthers beat Tri-Valley in the quarterfinals, 21-19, 15-20 and 20-14. Before the tournament final, Imbler eliminated Pine Eagle in the semifinals, two games to one.

Sarah Bowers led the Panthers with 20 kills in the tournament. Reva West totaled 57 assists for the day. McKenzie Tally and Madeline Nilsson came off the bench and had excellent serving days with three aces each.

Imbler travels to Helix Thursday night and hosts Powder Valley, Saturday, in its Old Oregon League opener.

Joseph Tournament

The Joseph volleyball tournament was filled with excitement and created some unlikely results.

Wallowa finished the tournament in second-place after a slow start to its season. “I’m very proud of our girls,” Cougars’ head coach Terri Wilson said. “As a team we really grew. It was a long three- day run for us.”

In the tournament championships, Ione defeated Wallowa, 3-2.

Wallowa was led by Anna Christman and Megan McKenzie. “Anna played very well up front. Megan saw the court in ways she never has before. She put the ball anywhere she wanted to,” Wilson said.

In pool play, the Cougars split with Ione and defeated the La Grande J.V. team and Joseph.

The Eagles finished the tournament in third place, after finishing second in their pool.

Joseph opened pool play with wins over the La Grande J.V. team and Ione. Wallowa then defeated the Eagles.

“We played up and down all day,” Joseph head coach Anna Yost said. “We started strong, and then played on our heels. The girls did finish the day on a high note.”

In bracket play, the Eagles fell to Ione in three games and defeated La Grande J.V.

Wallowa travels to Halfway, Saturday, to play Pine Eagle. Joseph heads to Enterprise Tuesday for its next game. “The Outlaws are a solid team. They will pick up anything we hit at them,” Yost said.