The Eagle/Angel CarpenterGrant Union Prospector Samantha Brock attacks the ball in the Oct. 31 game against Central Linn.

JOHN DAY – Grant Union’s volleyball team took the sweep last Saturday, hosting the Central Linn Cobras in the first round state playoff game.

The Prospectors advance to the OSAA/U.S. Bank/Les Schwab Tires 2A Volleyball State Championship game in Redmond, facing the Bonanza Antlers in the quarterfinal round at 10 a.m. Friday at Ridgeview High School in Redmond, and the tournament continues on Saturday.

Grant Union and Central Linn appeared to be well matched in the first set Friday afternoon, but the Prospectors surged and took a dominant stance for the next two sets, taking the match 25-21, 25-14 and 25-11, giving Grant Union an overall 24-4 record for the season.

Grant Union fought injuries during the week.

“We didn’t know what lineup changes we might have to make before and during the match, said head coach Shae Speth. “It ended up that we were able to stay with our usual rotation. We practice in a way that any player can play pretty much any position and with any combination of players.”

After scoring the first two points in the first set, Central Linn got on the board and the teams kept the scoring fairly close as the teams tried to become familiar with what the other team was bringing offensively and defensively.

Prospector Samantha Brock extended the lead, 17-12, then the Cobras made a push, getting within one at 21-20 before Grant Union pulled away behind strong serving by Kori Pentzer and key attacks by Mariah Moulton.

Moulton finished out the set serving, with a kill by Pentzer on the last point of the set.

After a rough start on serve-receive in the second set, Grant Union pushed ahead early with tough serving from Samantha Brock.

“We settled in a bit more than in the first set, and Central Linn made several hitting errors,” said head coach Shae Speth.

Pentzer served two aces in a row which pushed the score to 17-6, finishing the set with a kill.

Prospector Chelsie Kodesh was on a roll early in the third set with a strong serving run, pushing the score to 8-2.

Central Linn had trouble controlling the ball, as Grant Union dominated for the win.

After the game, Prospector Heather Mosley said she was happy with their performance.

“We played together as a team and had a lot of fun,” she said.

“It was a great game, and we’re ready for state,” said Kenzie Wilson.

Taylor McCluskey said the team is excited for a return to the championship tournament.

“This week will be important in practice, getting ready for state,” she said.

“We worked hard and I feel we deserve this – we’re on our way,” said Samantha Brock.

Speth said she expects tough competition on the road ahead.

“There are eight very good teams at Redmond, and it comes down to who plays the best on those two days,” she said. “We have strong representation from the Wapiti League with all three teams making the Final 8 – Burns, Grant Union, Imbler – and another two from the other eastern Oregon league – Culver and Weston-McEwen.”

She expects Bonanza will be a strong team.

“From film, we’ll look to see what their tendencies are, but we strongly believe that if we play our game and play well, we can beat anyone,” she said. “Regardless of what happens this weekend, we’ve had an incredible season, and one of the best in our program history. But we are definitely not just happy to be going back to Redmond – we want to win.”

The Prospectors will have a send off at 3:15 p.m. Thursday from the school parking lot.

The stats

Grant Union vs. Central Linn

Mariah Moulton: 11 kills, 1 ace, 6 digs

Samantha Brock: 6 kills, 1 ace, 1 dig, 2 block assists

Kenzie Wilson: 1 solo block, 4 block assists

Kori Pentzer: 16 kills, 4 aces, 100 percent serve-receive, 7 digs

Rheanna Cartner: 3 aces, 8 digs, 2 block assists

Heather Mosley: 2 kills

Jocelynn Smith: 1 kill, 1 solo block

Taylor McCluskey: 100 percent serving

Chelsie Kodesh: 2 aces, 13 digs