Panthers bring back team title from Sherman invite

SHERMAN — Two years equaled three trophies for the Imbler volleyball team.

The Panthers took home the team title for the second straight season from the Sherman Invite. Imbler’s junior varsity team also won the team title this season.

“The girls were really excited about the two wins,” Panthers head coach Jennifer Teeter said. “It’s a really tough tournament, and the girls finished it off strong.”

The host team fell 25-20, 25-16, 25-18. The Panthers took care of Union 25-16, 25-9, 25-22.

Against Sherman, Demetria Thompson finished with seven kills and six blocks in the two games.

Sarah Bowers and Chelsea Poe collected eight and seven kills, respectively.

Reva West finished with 25 assists.

Thompson led Imbler with 14 kills against Union.

On Saturday, the Panthers finished 2-1 in pool play.

North Powder fell to Imbler 20-14, and Council, Idaho, lost 20-11.

Crane defeated the Panthers 20-18.

However, Imbler picked up three wins in bracket play for the championship.

The Badgers’ stats were not available.

But head coach Lasa Baxter left the tournament happy with her team.

“We’re still finding out where everyone fits in,” Baxter said. “This is a great group of girls, and they continue to get better each week. We’ll be ready for the start of the league schedule.”

Imbler and Powder Valley will square off Thursday at 5 p.m.

Cougars end long week with a title

JOSEPH — A long week ended in a perfect way for Wallowa.

The Cougars took home the team title from the Joseph Invite Saturday.

“The girls were pretty worn out,” head coach Teri Wilson said. “We just tried to keep them full of water and granola bars.”

It was a quick turnaround from Friday night. The Cougars traveled to Adrian, and were swept 25-15, 25-23 and 25-17.

The team got off the bus at 2 a.m. Saturday and six hours later boarded the bus for Joseph.

Wallowa swept the La Grande junior varsity team and split with Echo in pool play.

In tournament play, the Cougars snuck by the host team, Joseph, 26-24, 16-25, 15-11.

The road to the championship continued against Ione with a 25-23, 11-25, 17-15 win.

“We didn’t expect to get that far,” Wilson said. “I actually told the girls we could take Saturday off, but they wanted to do it.”

Wallowa swept Cove in the championship game 25-17, 25-19 and 15-10.

  Joseph will travel to Nixyaawii Friday for a 4 p.m. match. Wallowa will host Powder Valley and Cove hosts Imbler Saturday.