Grant Union's junior varsity volleyball team huddles at the Dig Pink event.

JOHN DAY – A bright future is in the cards for Grant Union volleyball.

The junior varsity team wrapped up a successful season, losing only two matches.

One game was lost to the Baker City junior varsity team at a tournament in which the Prospectors beat the Bulldogs earlier in the day.

Grant Union’s other loss was to the Prairie City varsity team, however, the Prospectors came back with a win against the Panthers later in the season.

The Prospector junior varsity 2 team didn’t have as many games, but also played well, said coach Rhonda Jenison, adding the team worked hard in practice even though their schedule was lighter.

Jenison coached the junior varsity team while Shanna Northway coached junior varsity 2 – the pair worked together during practices.

“It was a really strong JV season,” Jenison said. “Across the board they were really good kids on and off the court, and they worked hard and were very coachable. I look forward to seeing what they do in their future volleyball pursuits.”

Seventeen players on the junior varsity teams crossed over from JV to JV2 from time to time, Jenison said. With varsity included, there were a total of 26 Grant Union volleyball players.

JV and JV2 players included: Cody Jo Madden, Avery Lenz, Natalie Stearns, McKenzie Wilson, Whitney McClellan, Jocelynn Smith, Bayley Harper, Mariah Wright, Tegan Wright, Taylor McCluskey, Jaimi Gravley, Hailey Carter, Jessica Carter, Fallon Weaver, Tressa Ranft, Jozie Rude and Reagan Shelley.

“It was an honor to work with such a great group of kids,” Jenison said. “All JV players showed significant improvement over the season.”

She noted the support from the community also made it a positive year for volleyball.

“Our coaching staff would like to thank all our parents and our fans for being so supportive this year – they were amazing.”