Brooklyn Butler ’25 protects the net against West Salem. Photo taken by Zoey Keele
The elite eight, officially the quarterfinals of the OSAA 6A Volleyball State Championships, is the eight teams remaining in the postseason campaign. In regards to the elite eight of 2023, South Salem High School has played through the postseason to reach this milestone. Due to their arrival in the elite eight, the Saxons were to play against Jesuit High School, the top-seeded team in 6A. Before the quarterfinal match, both teams had seen their share of success this season. Jesuit obtained an overall record of 29-2, while South possessed a 21-9 record. As well as that, the Crusaders had not yet lost a set, the Saxons losing only one against Central Catholic High School.
The quarterfinal match between the two top-eight teams occurred at Forest Grove High School and started at 1:15 p.m. The Saxons brought the Crusaders their first unsuccessful postseason set as they won 25-19. However, this sense of victory did not follow the Saxons for the rest of the game, as they lost the following three sets, which cost them the game. The scores of the second, third and fourth sets were as follows: 25-19, 25-7 and 25-14.
Although they came out unsuccessful, their season continues due to the consolation round. This consolation round is for the losing teams of the quarterfinal matches. The four losing teams of the quarterfinals move into two consolation games, both of which will commence on November 4. The Saxons will play twelfth-seeded Westview High School. Even though both teams have the same overall record of 21-9, they have different Adjusted Playoff Rankings. The Saxons stand at eight while the Wildcats sit at 12. The game between the two will start at 10 a.m. on the first court.
