On Saturday, Oct. 31, the Saxons defeated Lake Oswego 3-0 in the second round of the playoffs. They will play Central Catholic next in the quarterfinals. The South Salem Saxons finished the regular season with an overall record of 23-5 and a league record of 10-0. The Saxons entered the 6A Girls Volleyball State Championship with a first round bye.

Coaching

While the team warmed up for the match, South’s Head Coach Matthew Leichty emphasized the intensity he saw at practice during the week.

“We look like a team that knows what this is about, knows what the playoffs are about, and [is] really focused and ready to go get the job done,” Leichty said.

Leichty noted the team’s focus for the day was to maintain pressure throughout the match.

“Serve tough and really try to execute well on offense. If we do that, we should be in a good spot,” Leichty said.

Set by Set

South’s starters for the first set were Addison Herber ‘27, Avery Herber ‘27, Leah Ioane ‘27, Liv Muhammad ‘29, Ellenia Setzer ‘27 and Kennedi Smith ‘27.

The Lake Oswego Lakers started the first set 3-0. However, Nora Kartye ‘28 and Ava Mosgrove ‘27 each had two kills early on. The Saxons gained momentum following two aces from Ioane and two kills from Avery Herber, resulting in the Lakers taking a timeout. Ioane recorded another ace after the time out. The Saxons and Lakers traded points, advancing the score to 19-17, with the Saxons in the lead. An ace from Setzer helped the Saxons convert the win to 25-21 to go up 1-0.

Early on, the Saxons capitalized on the momentum from the first set. A series of kills from Avery Herber and Kartye advanced the Saxons to a 9-3 lead. Avery recorded six more kills and an ace to push the lead to 19-11. The Saxons capped off the second set with an ace from Muhammad. The Saxons won 25-16.

The third set started with two kills from Kartye, one from Ava Musgrove ‘27, and an ace from Setzer. However, the Lakers maintained a 13-9 lead. The Saxons, after another ace from Muhammad, responded with two kills from Addison Herber and an ace from Ioane. The Saxons took a timeout with an 18-14 lead. From there, kills from Kartye and Avery pushed the Saxons to secure the third set. The Saxons won 25-19.

With their 3-0 victory, South Salem advances to the quarterfinals, where they are set to play Central Catholic.