Volleyball win streak remains unbroken

The wins keep on rolling in for the Saints volleyball team.

With two home games last weekend, MHCC looked to solidify itself as the class of the Southern Region.

First up was visiting Umpqua, and the Saints didn’t falter. They swept the Riverhawks (25-23, 25-18, 25-21). The Saints moved to 6-0 after Friday’s victory. They converted 41 kills on 117 attempts, including 10 each from freshman Lihau Perreira and sophomore Maycee Abendschein, as well as 12 kills by freshman Tori Kemper, and outblocked their opponent 9.5 to 3.

On Saturday, the Lakers of Southwest Oregon came to town looking to knock MHCC off its tracks. But as they’ve done all year the Saints took care of business, in a stellar performance.

Another sweep (25-9, 25-13, 25-16) further secured the Saints’ position at the top of their region. Kemper poured in 19 of MHCC’s 45 kills throughout the match, and sophomore Kelsey Merritt added 13 digs en route to their dominant victory over SWOCC.

Freshman Kaycie Kitzmiller and sophomore Alyssa Hall combined for 35 of the team’s 45 assists on the evening.

On Wednesday, Linn-Benton arrived in town as the only team conceivably threatening MHCCs chance at another Southern region title. The Saints took on the 5-1 Road Runners in a showdown between the South’s top two squads.

The match took four sets, but MHCC came out on top yet again (25-18, 18-25, 25-12, 25-23).

“It was a good team win,” said head coach Chelsie Speer. It was the second victory this season over Linn-Benton for MHCC. “Lihau Perreira, Kelsey Merritt, and Kylie Kitzmiller all played very well for us tonight,” she said.

The next task at hand is the annual Halloween tournament hosted by MHCC, this weekend’s Dorian-Harris Classic.

Teams include Columbia Basin, Chemeketa, Clackamas, Edmonds, Highline, Olympic, Pierce, Shoreline, Umpqua, Whatcom, Walla Walla, and, of course, the host Saints.

Speer said Walla Walla and Highline will be “good to face, tough competition” with the NWAACC’s league playoffs right around the corner. “We try to live in the moment. We’ll reference NWAACC’s throughout the year, but we take it one game at a time,” she said.

The Saints face off with Whatcom at 2 p.m. today, then Pierce at 6 p.m.