MHCC Volleyball setting up for success

The young Saints volleyball team learned some valuable lessons Monday night.

The Saints played Blue Mountain Community College, the top-ranked team in the East division of the NWAC league with a record of 14-5. The Saints fell to Blue Mountain in three games: 22-25, 15-25, 22-25.

Mt. Hood are off to a 2-6 start, but head coach Andrew Clifton does not want to call it a slow start. “I’d rather call what we have had so far  a learning curve,’ ” he said. The team has eight freshmen this year, so it is somewhat inexperienced. Clifton is not too worried about the beginning of the season; instead, he is more interested in how the Saints will finish the year.

This batch of recruits were also Clifton’s first here, since he took the job a year ago. Hunter Sterkel is a freshman libero who starred for three years at South Eugene High School. Fellow Eugene native and freshman libero recruit, Courtney Smith, started all four years at Sheldon High School. Meridian, Idaho, is where Clifton found Lexie Walthall, a four-year varsity starter, who also played libero. Hannah Snyder, a former standout player at King’s Way Christian High School in Vancouver, Wash., is a middle blocker. Clifton also landed two new players from Hawaii: freshman setter, Erin Perry, from W.R. Farrington High School, in Honolulu; and powerful freshman, Jazmayne Williams, an outside hitter, also from Honolulu.

The promising young talent could have fans excited to catch the Saints in action this fall. They have a rich winning tradition in volleyball, and have won 22 regional and divisional titles and eight NWAC championships.

The Saints’ next game is at 6 p.m. Friday, at home, inside the Yoshida Event Center (MHCC gym) against Southwestern Oregon Community College.

 

Upcoming home games

Southwestern Oregon

Sept. 25 at 6pm 

Umpqua

Sept. 26 at 1pm