JOHN DAY – September has been good to the Grant Union volleyball team.

The Prospectors added eight wins to their record last week after losing their first game of the season to Union Aug. 29. Grant Union started the string of wins during a double header at home Thursday, Sept. 4. The Pros took the court against Lakeview first and won 3-0. Heppner put up a fight in the second game, but Grant Union ended the day with a 3-2 victory.

The Pros kept the momentum going into their Friday match up with Pilot Rock. They swept the Rockets in three games.

Grant Union wrapped up their busy week with a tournament in Heppner Saturday, Sept. 6. The Pros went 2-1 in pool play, only losing to Dufur, but qualified for bracket play. They added two more wins beating Amity and Heppner on their way to the final.

Grant Union got a chance to rematch Dufur in the final round of the tournament. The Pros won the second meeting 2-1.

“When the girls saw that we were facing Dufur they wanted to step up and get the game back,” Grant Union assistant coach Katie O’Quinn said. “They played a much stronger game the second time we faced them.”

Jacee Retherford and LaShawnda Gill led the team with 30 kills each during the tournament. Retherford added 11 blocks and Gill had six of her own. Katelyn Page had 18 kills, Karina Hoffman earned 17, Aspen Riggs hit 8 and Ashely Slinkard had 6.

Megan Nash and Sharon Houpt were serving the ball well during the tournament. Nash had 14 aces while Houpt had 11.

“Jacee had a strong tournament,” O’Quinn said. “Houpt made a bunch of plays at key times for us, too. She would get the ball set and picked up a lot of assists.”

Grant Union faced Crane at home at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, but the game finished after deadline. The Pros will start Eastern Oregon League play in Umatilla and Riverside Sept. 13. They will face Umatilla at noon and then travel to Riverside for the second game of the day.