High school volleyball is back in the Basin. Get ready for the season with this quick look at 4A teams Henley, Mazama, and Klamath Union. Be sure to check out our high school football previews too if you haven’t already.
Henley trying to keep momentum despite roster rebuild
Sierra Patzke made the playoffs in each of her first two seasons as Henley head coach, including a state tournament appearance last year. Now, she has the unenviable task of rebuilding a team with just two returning players.
“We’re really young this year, our whole program,” Patzke said. “We’re majority freshmen and sophomores.”
Patzke said the new wave of Hornets players is talented, if inexperienced, and she’s concentrating on building them up mentally.
“We’re just trying to encourage and let these kids know that we have confidence in them and their abilities,” Patzke said. “Our seniors are two great leaders for us, and so they really buy into that as well.”
Jewell Northcutt, who has drawn interest from college basketball programs, and Kelcee Nichols are the only seniors on the Henley roster this season.
“They’re playing a big part in building up the younger kids and…trying to get back to the playoffs at the end of the year,” Patzke said.
The Hornets opened their season at the Tall Man Tournament at Lakeview last weekend. They also played at St. Mary’s (Medford) Tuesday, dropping a 3-2 result that Patzke said reflected a significant improvement.
“We struggled a little bit at the Tall Man Tournament…with some first game jitters,” Patzke said. “We played really well at St. Mary’s…It seemed like they were more comfortable.”
Henley opens Skyline Conference play Sept. 14 at Hidden Valley.
Mazama looking to build on best season ever
Mazama had endured 11 straight losing seasons before finishing 19-2 and winning the Skyline Conference in 2021. Last year, the Vikings took it a step further, winning back-to-back conference titles and finishing third at their first state tournament in program history.
This year’s team brings back all but three players and was ranked fourth in 4A in the preseason coaches poll. Senior setter and right-side hitter Alexia Lowe is among the top returners in 4A statistically; she recorded 300 digs and 85 aces in 2022.
Mazama opened their season at the Cascade Christian Tournament, where they faced four 3A teams who were ranked in the preseason coaches poll: No. 5 Santiam Christian, No. 9 St. Mary’s (Medford), No. 4 Creswell and No. 7 Pleasant Hill.
“The level of the competition was really high for us because it highlighted some things that we need to repair or work on over the course of the season in order to be able to compete at that high level,” Vikings head coach Rob Downey said.
Downey, who has been coaching volleyball for 37 years, said his main objective for his seventh season at Mazama is sending the Vikings’ history-making senior class out on a good note.
“I would like to see them do well [in] their final season at Mazama and really come together as a team,” Downey said.
Mazama opens Skyline Conference play Sept. 14 against Phoenix.
Consistency could bode well for Klamath Union
Klamath Union is in the midst of their own slump; the Pelicans haven’t put up a winning record since 2016. However, fifth-year head coach Faryn Knight is hopeful that this season will be a turning point. She said she’s noticed a consistency across the Klamath Union varsity, JV, and JV2 teams that wasn’t present in her first four seasons.
“I feel like this level of play this year has really stepped up a notch,” Knight said.
The makeup of the Pelicans roster this season likely has a lot to do with the upswing. Klamath Union returns all but three players from last year’s team, including senior outside hitter and middle blocker Keely Hall and senior setter Cassidy Bogatay, who are both four-year varsity players. Junior setter Mattie Westlake and junior middle blocker Jacie Madden, who are both three-year varsity players, should also be major contributors.
Knight, who played at Oregon Tech and was an assistant coach for the Lady Owls during the 2018 season, said Madden in particular has serious potential.
“She’s a big name to look for even next year,” Knight said.
Klamath Union opened their season Wednesday with a 3-1 win over 1A Bonanza. They open Skyline Conference play Sept. 19 against Phoenix.