BAKER VOLLEYBALL: Bulldogs sweep Ontario on Senior Night

Oct. 19—Baker volleyball fans honored the Bulldogs' six seniors Tuesday evening in the Baker gym, but this wasn't exactly a final farewell.

The Bulldogs, who followed the pre-match ceremony by sweeping Ontario, are in line to host a Class 4A playoff game, likely on Oct. 29, so the seniors and their teammates should have a chance to perform one more time for the home crowd.

The loud and enthusiastic support from those fans, including a packed student section at the southwest corner of the gym, would be a "huge" benefit for the Bulldogs, Baker coach Ali Abrego said after her team dispatched the Tigers, 25-19, 25-8, 25-18.

"We want that energy," Abrego said.

Tuesday's win capped Baker's second straight unbeaten season in the Greater Oregon League.

The Bulldogs, 16-4 overall, have won 12 straight league matches.

That consistency is a tribute to the players' dedication, Abrego said.

"It goes to show how hard these kids work all the time," she said.

The six seniors received special recognition for their contributions to the team Tuesday.

Makenzie Flanagan, Taylor Dalton, Jozie Ramos, Campbell Vanderwiele and Gio Piccinelli, an exchange student from Italy, were on the court to start the match.

Another senior, Rylee Elms, a key player the previous team years who wasn't able to play this fall, was also honored.

Tuesday was also Pink Night, with a silent auction of several gift baskets to raise money for the Billie Ruth Bootsma Foundation, which provides mammograms for women who can't afford the screening.

Once the match started, Ontario, which went winless in league play, proved a somewhat more formidable opponent than the Tigers were when Baker swept them on Sept. 29 at Ontario.

The scores in that match were 25-14, 25-7, 25-7.

On Tuesday in the Baker gym, Ontario scored the first two points and led 7-3. After Ramos had a kill to tie the score at 7, Ontario regained the lead at 11-8.

But Baker scored the next seven points, six of those with sophomore Lilly Wilson serving, to lead 15-11. Ontario never got closer as Baker closed out the first set.

The Tigers again led early in the second set, 3-2, but Ramos had two straight kills on Ontario over passes to give Baker a 7-3 lead.

Sophomore Jayden Whitford's ace service boosted Baker's lead to 14-6, and the Bulldogs cruised from there.

Ontario led 9-7 in the third set, but a Tiger attack error gave Baker the lead at 10-9. Vanderwiele's kill increased the lead to 12-9, and sophomore Taylor Churchfield's kill made it 20-13.

In an appropriate conclusion for Senior Night, Flanagan had the match-winning point on a tip shot.

Baker concluded its regular season Wednesday evening against Burns in a nonleague match at Grant Union High School.

Abrego said the Hilanders are one of the better teams Baker has played, and winning the match would both improve the Bulldogs' position for playoff seeding and boost their confidence.

Burns, the defending Class 3A state champion, had won 23 straight matches going into Wednesday's match up. The Hilanders hadn't lost a set since Sept. 20 at Vale. Burns has swept two of Baker's GOL rivals, Pendleton and La Grande.