Sandy volleyball’s Chloe Sperr, Olivia McVicar star in 3-1 loss to Barlow

Published 10:55 pm Monday, September 11, 2023

By Christopher Keizur

Barlow junior Alexa Bell.

Sandy volleyball seemed destined to send a hard-fought match against rivals Barlow to a fifth set, reclaiming momentum in what had been a back-and-forth affair.

Down 2-1, the Pioneers had players step up across the court with impressive plays. They had five aces as a team — including back-to-back from senior libero Chloe Sperr to make it 11-8. Fellow senior middle blocker Olivia McVicar prowled the net, blocking a pair of hits back into the Bruins face and forcing others into wild mishits to avoid her outstretched arms. And down the stretch senior Keira Espino, junior Maia Roach and sophomore Alex Mallory all scored on impressive plays.

It boiled down to a 22-22 tie in the fourth set, with the Pioneers on the brink. But a hit into the net and a thunderous kill from Barlow senior Olivia Brown sealed it for the visitors.

The Bruins beat Sandy 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-17, 25-22) Monday, Sept. 11, in a Mt. Hood Conference contest.

“It was intense tonight,” said Barlow Coach Jessie Mott. “I’m glad they came back strong after letting some runs go to Sandy. We need to keep building that confidence and making adjustments.”

“This was the type of game I like — great fight and fast,” Mott said.

Neither team could pull away from the other, in what was a back-and-forth affair in each set.

In the opener Sandy (2-3, 0-3 League) jumped out to a hot start, up 5-2, but Barlow slowly battled back. An ace from sophomore Cadence Austin gave the Bruins (3-1, 2-1 League) their first lead at 13-12, which they would not relinquish the rest of the way, with the set win punctuated by a late spike from senior Gabbie Davidson.

The Pioneers got revenge during an impressive second set. Down 11-17, and facing a potential runaway from Barlow, they began chiseling away at the lead. Espino was the spark, scoring point after point to spur the 25-23 set win.

Sandy was imposing at the net, led by McVicar. Sandy sophomore outside hitter Anna Orlowski, junior middle blocker Maia Roach and sophomore opposite hitter Hannah Petrillo also made big plays.