Powder Valley girls volleyball is no stranger to success, but with plenty of roster turnover and new head coach Karly Dunten taking over, things were going to look a little different in 2025.
But a different look hasn’t meant different results as the Badgers shared the regular season title of the 1A Old Oregon League. They did fall to Imbler 3-1 in the league tournament last weekend.
Despite the loss, the Badgers (26-4, 10-0 Old Oregon) are heading to the 1A state playoffs as the No. 5 seed and will host No. 28 Country Christian at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29 to begin their postseason quest.
“We’ve got a tough league over here, so it really was like, ‘Who knows?’ The girls came up to me one day and said, ‘We want to go to state this year,’” Dunten said. “That’s a possibility, but we gotta lock in because it’s a new program, some new things, new offenses, new positions.”
With so much new, Dunten got back to the basics with her crew of seven, which meant setting serve-receive as the foundation for success.
At practice, Dunten draws lines on a whiteboard to create three columns of “Great, Could Be Better or Not Playable.” Then, the team gets six serves in each of the six rows with each play falling into one of three categories.
The team has adapted to practice by saying, “Keep it on the right side,” the column where “Great” is written.
“The boring stuff, the stuff that seems on a day-to-day basis, tossing to your partner and passing back, seems silly and mundane, but it really is what makes a difference when you can do that without thinking about it,” Dunten said. “I think one of our biggest things has been serve-receive this year. I’ve never had a team that can serve-receive this well.”
It seems simple, but when you’re not letting the other team go on big runs, it can stop any momentum that the sport always seems to thrive on.
Helping stunt opponents this season has been the senior trio of middle blocker Sky Nesser, outside hitter Kellee Dixon and setter Janie Bingham.
Nesser is the one the Badgers go to when times are tough, for a point or a laugh, and is hitting at an unbelievable 51.6% clip. Dixon plays opposite of Nesser at the net and is also big in the back row, and Bingham is the one bringing the offense together and helping the Badgers play faster than they were used to.
“(Nesser) is our go-to big dog. … She’s the funniest kid, she has the most energy and she’s just a great all-around kid,” Dunten said. “(Bingham) is a lefty, so stacking her on the right side is nice, but she is just the hardest working kid.
“(Dixon) is just a strong all-around athlete, amazing back row. If I could I’d play her as my libero but I can’t, I need her in the front row too.”
Then there’s the two juniors in libero Avrie Anderson and defensive specialist Maylee Martin. Both have stepped up into their roles this year and grown not only as players, but leaders in a program that will be in their hands next year.
“(Anderson) is one of those that doesn’t want to fail because of her team. She’s been amazing stepping up and playing six rotations in the back row,” Duntent said. “I told (Martin) this even (last summer), there’s no way she was going to be a front row player. And now she’s our second highest in serve-receive and passing and she’s only there three rotations in the back row.”
Rounding out the seven-deep roster is sophomore outside Hannah Martin and freshman outside Texie Van Tassel.
Hannah Martin is on a similar trajectory to Nesser, but also brings her big game to the bench as she’s the first to provide energy there. Van Tassel played under Dunten in middle school and entered high school with plenty of familiarity to Dunten.
“I think my favorite thing about (Hannah Martin) is she’s one who sits out for the back row … on the bench, she’s making her own cheers. Everyone wants a Hannah on their team because she’s everybody’s biggest fan” Dunten said. “(Van Tassel) is a full-on natural athlete. Very athletic, has some hang time and can jump out of the gym.”
With a small roster, Dunten’s other biggest goal was conditioning as the Badgers needed it to last a four or five set match.
Despite not getting much of a breather at times, Dunten said she thinks the lack of subs has been a positive in the sense that the girls really get to know each other better on the court and learn every tendency.
“I think it’s just the stars align with this team and it just works,” Dunten said. “Obviously staying healthy has been a huge focus. Mental health, physical health, I try really hard to focus on what they need and they’re honest with me and I can trust that if they need a day off, they’re not being lazy, they really do just need that time.”
There’s no time off now with the postseason here and the stated goal of the Badgers to be back in the state tournament come Nov. 7-8 at La Grande High School.
In the way is No. 28 Country Christian, followed by the winner between No. 21 Damascus Christian and No. 12 Elkton on Saturday, Nov. 1.
With two wins, Powder Valley can accomplish the goal of a state tournament appearance. And from there, whatever happens, happens.
“We’ve been really pushing on being more aggressive with tips and having an aggressive third swing,” Dunten said. “Staying positive and being confident. … If we want to go far, we got to do it now, it’s time. They’re excited, so it’ll be fun.”
Myrtle Point on point
In 2024, Myrtle Point’s first year back at 2A after two-year hiatus in 1A, the Bobcats had a tough time in the nonleague portion of their schedule, going 6-6 overall in those matchups at 4-5 to start the year.
So in 2025 with five returners back, the Bobcats were ready for redemption, and they got it.
Myrtle Point is 22-1 heading into the 2A state playoffs, which includes a perfect 10-0 mark in the Sunset Conference and a 12-1 record in nonleague games. The Bobcats lone loss came on Sept. 9 in five sets to South Umpqua, but they got redemption on Oct. 4 when they beat the Lancers in straight sets at their home tournament.
Myrtle Point enters the postseason as the No. 3 seed and will host No. 14 Regis at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1.
“They’ve been playing really well together, they are probably as solid a group of six kids I’ve had,” Myrtle Point head coach Tami Brown, in her 13th season, said. “I’ve had good athletes in the past, but they all give 100% and they’re so selfless. They worry more about the team than themselves, it’s exciting and they want the team to win.”
That group of six formed over the summer when the Bobcats only had six players at a varsity camp that lasted all day for multiple days.
One of the matchups during the camp was against reigning 4A state champion Marshfield. Not the easiest of matches for a 2A squad, let alone with no subs.
Still, the girls hung tough and formed a bond that hasn’t been broken since.
“Not once did they point a finger at another player, they just went in stride with it,” Brown said. “They’re just really hungry to play well and be successful.”
Leading that success starts with the outside hitters in junior Taelyn Farmer and senior Raylee Murray who play all the way around.
In the middle is senior Bailie Detzler and freshman Delaney La Franchi, and setting it all up is junior Lauren Lively.
For the past two years, the Bobcats have bounced in the first round of the state playoffs, making this group that much more hungry to find some postseason success in 2025.
“From the beginning of this year, they sort of labeled this as our redemption tour season,” Brown said. “I really rarely have to correct them because as soon as they make a mistake, they know they’ve made the mistake and they want to fix it. Some nights they may not get it fixed completely and we struggle, but they really push themselves to be as perfect as possible.”
While that push admittedly hurts sometimes as well, the Bobcats have been as close to perfection as one can be with the 22-1 overall mark.
Some of those matches came on long days at tournaments as well where the short-benched Bobcats still found a way to be fresh come the final match of the night.
“It’s exciting to watch these girls, especially when they get in a rhythm and determination,” Brown said. “(At the Sheridan tournament), we played our first game at 8 a.m. and played our last game at 8 p.m. They played the championship game like they hadn’t played a game all day.”
It’s a perfect recipe for the state tournament where the quarterfinals and semifinals are played on the same day. But the Bobcats have to get there first by winning the first round matchup with Regis on Saturday, Nov. 1.
In order to get that first postseason win under their belt and find more wins at Eastern Oregon University, the Bobcats will need to take a deep breath and focus on what they know they can do.
“Self confidence and having fun, we tend to get tight and panicky,” Brown said. “Once you start winning, the target gets bigger and bigger each time. … It only lasts for so long, so be in the moment and just enjoy the time playing together, playing as a group. If they have fun, the score will take care of itself because they play so well when they’re loose and having a good time.”
Sisters reloads in 3A
The goal for Sisters first-year head coach Mahryahna Callegari was to get the Outlaws' staff a little bit younger, making it easier to connect with the team and what they are going through in a social media world.
That connection has paid off with Sisters sitting at 19-4 overall and 10-0 Mountain Valley Conference record.
The Outlaws are the No. 4 seed in the 3A state playoffs and await the winner between No. 20 Warrenton and No. 13 Creswell on Saturday, Nov. 1.
“Since our first open gym, it’s always been this mentality that we’re one family, our program is one family, our community is one family,” Callegari said. “They really bought into that and that’s why we’ve had the success we’ve had because we’re not super big, we’ve played all season with only eight girls on the team, but they really love each other and respect each other.”
Those eight girls have battled through injuries to stay on the court and keep winning for the Outlaws.
One of them is junior setter Paityn Cotner who’s been battling an ankle injury since the first week of action. She’s over 700 assists on the season with over 2,000 attempts as well and only averages one error a match.
“You’ll never catch (Cotner) complaining, she’s just that presence that everybody is like, ‘If she’s going to fight like that for me, then I have no reason not to,’” Callegari said. “They really look up to her.”
The Outlaws also feature three seniors in outside hitter Malia Hernandez, libero Emma Long and right-side/defensive specialist Audrey Sybesma.
The three have been critical in getting the team prepared under a new coach and into a new system despite being new to it as well.
“They are the ones that got everyone to buy in from day one and they’ve been the energy that has allowed the younger girls to just flourish,” Callegari said. “They really have helped us create this new program dynamic. We credit a lot of our success to them.”
Callegari also gives plenty of credit to her coaching staff that includes Josilyn Remick, Mailee Utu and Akela Utu. The four have known each other since playing volleyball together at Mountain View in Bend.
Up next is likely a rematch with league foe Creswell in the second round. The Outlaws beat the Bulldogs twice this season, once in four sets and one in five sets.
It could be an interesting challenge going against the Bulldogs and Oregon-commit Piper Hanson, but the Outlaws are ready to keep up the proud tradition of Sisters volleyball in the postseason.
“Whereas most teams get angry and frustrated with (Hanson), we welcome it,” Callegari said. “The girls love the higher level competition and it’s really just given us more success.”
austinw@osaa.org
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