Saints fall, vital game set for Saturday

Heading into Wednesday’s game against Chemeketa Community College, the Saints volleyball team had the power to control its destiny: A win over Chemeketa and the Saints would punch a ticket to the NWAC playoffs later next week; a loss to Chemeketa and a Southwestern Oregon Community College victory over winless Umpqua would mean Mt. Hood would have to take part in a play-in game this Saturday.

Entering the regular season’s final contest, Saints coach Andrew Clifton was excited for the match against the Chemeketa Storm (6-3 South Region, 22-14 overall).

“I look forward to watching the team continue their good play tonight,” he said, a reference to a hard-fought, four-set Mt. Hood loss to Clackamas CC on Nov. 7 (25-18, 19-25, 25-16, 25-21).

Unfortunately, the Chemeketa match didn’t end as the Saints or Clifton would have liked. The Saints suffered a four-set loss (24-26, 25-15, 25-17, 25-18).

“Won the first, Chemeketa made a run in the second and we struggled to get traction the rest of the match. Tough loss,”  Clifton summarized following the road loss in Salem.

To make matters worse, SW Oregon defeated Umpqua in three sets, forcing that play-in game.

The showdown takes place at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Mt. Hood Gymnasium. The winner advances to the NWAC championship, which starts in Tacoma, Wash., on Thursday.

The match is a “do or die” for the Saints: All the hard work they have put into the season comes down to Saturday’s match.

For years the runaway South Region favorite, can they become this year’s Cinderella? Time will tell.