Saints Start Perfect in League, Head to Salem

Photo by Jeff Hinds. Saints freshman Erin Perry prepares sophomore teammate Madison Weaver Saturday in the Mt. Hood gymnasium. The team is now 2-0 in South region play after defeating Southwestern Oregon and Umpqua over the weekend.

Coming off of a disappointing 3-7 division record and an overall mark of 13-29 last season, the MHCC Saints are on a bit of a roll. Second-year head coach Andrew Clifton, has his team in a great position in the early going of the NWAC play.

Photo by Jeff Hinds. Second year saints head volleyball coach Andrew Clifton says his team is off to a great start. “Those are two great wins for us, and we’re headed in the right direction.”

Mt. Hood improved to 2-0 in the South Region, and 5-9 overall, after back-to-back home victories on Friday and Saturday. The Saints women swept conference foes, Southwestern Oregon (25-21, 25-18, 25-20) and Umpqua (25-15, 25-19, 25-18). So far, the Saints are flawless and haven’t dropped a set in conference action. It hasn’t been too bad, considering the team only won three matches last season. “Those are two great wins for us and we’re headed in the right direction,” said Clifton following the victory over Umpqua. “We had some tough non-conference losses, especially in tournaments. I don’t know why I don’t prepare for tourneys [that] well, compared to the regular season

Coming into league play, Clifton said the Saints created their own Facebook page and wrote positive messages to help motivate one another, instead of hanging their heads on the tough times. “They were having a hard time seeing the positives,” Clifton said of his young team, which includes eight freshmen and only five sophomores. “So we decided to create this Facebook page and write down nice comments to get our girls going. And it seems to be working out.”

Clifton said the victory over Southwestern Oregon felt pretty good, especially since the Saints loss in five sets to the Lakers (24-26,26-28,25-21,25-22,15-8) back on Sept. 12. “It was obviously nice to get that victory since they got us in five last time,” he said. “It was a good turnaround and we’re performing well right now.”

In the victory over Umpqua, the team was led by 5-foot, 10-inch sophomore setter Samantha Douglas (11 kills) and 5-foot, 8-inch freshman outside hitter Jazmayne Williams (10 kills). The Saints are slated to travel to the state’s capital for a big match with the Chemeketa Storm (2-0) in the South, and 21-2 overall). Riding an eight-match win streak, the Storm beat the Saints in all three matches last season. So, Clifton & Co. look to leave Salem with some positive reinforcement.

“This should be a huge match against a very good team,” said Clifton. “Again, we’re performing well right now, but we will run into a road block. It’s pretty rare to have a flawless season. And as a coach you want to continue learning from your mistakes.”

Advocate Staff