The Grant Union volleyball team and coaches prepare for their trip to Vernonia for their first round at state.

VERNONIA – The Grant Union Prospector volleyball team took down the Vernonia Loggers in four sets last weekend to advance to the state tourney this Friday in Redmond.

The first-round playoff win puts the Prospectors in the running for 2A state championship.

Grant Union will face Myrtle Point at 1:15 p.m. in the tourney at Redmond’s Ridgeview High.

If they win, the Pros will play again at 8:30 p.m. Friday; if they lose, they play at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The Prospectors were confident going into last Saturday’s match with the Loggers.

“From the information we had on Vernonia, we knew we had a good opportunity to come away with the win if we played well,” said head coach Shae Speth. “Although we did not pass particularly well on serve-receive, our hitters had a great day offensively.”

Set scores were 25-20, 25-14, 21-25 and 25-21.

Carli Gardner had good serving runs in the first set, as did Mariah Meyerholz in the second, to push the team ahead, the coach said.

“We lost some focus in the third set and started off with too many errors that we just never recovered from,” she said.

Still, the crowd from home was supportive throughout the match, she added.

“That makes a huge difference for the team to have that positive energy behind them,” she said. “We hope to have a tremendous turnout from the community this weekend in Redmond.”

Speth said that when her team is playing well, they can compete with any team.

“After watching film of Myrtle Point, that belief holds,” she said. “We know that it will be tough competition, and we’ll need to play our best volleyball in order to do well, but we like our chances and are preparing to do well and compete at a high level.”

The coach said some have underestimated her players, and now they’re proving how good they can be.

“We aren’t happy to make it this far – we want to win,” she said. “The team has been building confidence through these tough wins the past couple of weeks, and are determined. They are playing exceptionally well as a team right now and have a lot to be proud of.”

Grant Union has spent a contentious season battling strong Wapiti League opponents, including the Burns Hilanders, who won the Oct. 25 District Tournament. The Union Bobcats came in second, and Grant Union, third.

“Burns and Union both made it to the Final 8,” Speth said. “The Wapiti League is the only league with more than one team being represented at state – a true testament to how good our league is.”

The stats

GU vs. Vernonia

Mariah Moulton: 10 kills; 7 digs

Samantha Brock: 1 kill, 1 dig

Sydney Stearns: 12 digs

Rheanna Cartner: 12 kills; 25 set assists; 1 ace; 7 digs; 3 block assists

Mariah Meyerholz: 24 set assists; 12 digs

Heather Mosley: 6 kills; 3 digs; 1 solo block, 4 block assists

Carli Gardner: 8 kills; 2 aces; 1 dig; 1 block assist

Emily Mosley: 1 kill; 2 digs; 1 block assist

Kori Pentzer: 21 kills; 1 ace; 20 digs; 1 block assist

Chelsie Kodesh: 35 digs