PANTHER VOLLEYBALL

OREGON HIGH SCHOOL
News
Varsity
Roster
JV
Freshmen
Coaches
Pictures
                Coach Jordahl-Burcum featured on NCAA.COM 



                           
                All Conference
Brianna Wethal
 1st Team
 Alex Bresser
2nd Team
Bryan Anderson
Honorable Mention
 Kesley Smith
Honorable Mention
                 Team Awards
Alex Bresser
Team Captain 
 Alex Bresser
Most Valuable
Katelyn Macaulay
Most Improved
Ashley Marshall
Most Improved

     
 
THANK YOU BRYN ANDERSON, ALEX BRESSER, AND KELSEY SMITH FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE FOR OUR PROGRAM!
        For Full Coverage of the OHS Volleyball Team Click Here        
Volleyball: Panthers' time runs out

Alex Bresser’s final prep game of her career included 10 kills to lead Oregon in a 3-1 loss at Madison West.

Matthew Goins
Sports Reporter

The Oregon volleyball team saw its 2009 season come to a close Thursday, traveling to Madison West for a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal, losing 3-1.

After a forgettable opening set, in which the Panthers were rolled over by the Regents 25-12, Oregon began to give fifth-seeded West a run for its money. The Panthers took a lead in the second set, but the Regents rallied to pull out the victory, 25-21 to go up 2-0 in the match.

"We kind of waited too long to start playing volleyball, and that's kind of been the way the season's been this year," head coach Jackie Simpson said. "You saw some of the amazing things that we could do, and you saw the ways we can falter."

Oregon pulled off a rally of its own, coming from behind to win the third set 25-19 and took some of that momentum into the fourth set. There, the Panthers built up an 18-12 lead. But three straight hits into the net by Oregon began to turn the tide in the Regents' favor and a hit out eventually tied the set at 21-all.

From there West was able to keep rolling, and a block by Oregon on a kill attempt fell out of bounds, giving the Regents the 25-22 set win and match victory.

"It was a slow start, but the fact that we fought back into it and battled through showed against a really strong team," Simpson said. "We came from down big, we held some leads.

"You can see the level of play (West) was bringing right away. I think we just got caught a little off-guard, it was that combination of them starting off strong and us starting off slow."

After a 4-8 Badger South Conference season, the Panthers lose three seniors to graduation.

"Where we ended up and what our record showed was not the team we truly are," Simpson said. "The strides we made as a team and the things the girls learned are unbelievable."

Alex Bresser, Brianna Wethal and Haley Grow led the team with 10 kills. Wethal added 17 digs and 22 assists. Bryn Anderson had eight blocks, while Bresser added three aces.

Volleyball: Panthers ready to begin playoffs


Matthew Goins
Sports Reporter

Oregon volleyball saw its regular season come to a close Thursday evening.

Oregon 3, Milton 0

From a game on Oct. 8, the Panthers hit the road and pulled out a 3-0 victory over Milton.
Volleyball: Spikers pick off Fort Atkinson


Matthew Goins
Sports Reporter

Oregon volleyball got a bit of revenge this week, before dropping a match to the Badger South Conference leaders.

Oregon 3, Fort Atkinson 0
After losing the season-opener at home against Fort Atkinson 3-0, the Panthers hit the road Thursday evening to take on those same Blackhawks. And the score remained the same, except on this night it was Oregon shutting out the host, 3-0.

The Panthers won the opening game 27-25, after falling behind 20-16. Oregon rallied to pull ahead 23-22 late, and the two teams traded points before the Panthers won.

Game two was another back-and-forth battle before Oregon was able to pull away for a 25-22 win. Trailing 14-12 in game three, the Panthers outscored Fort Atkinson 13-3 over the final stretch to win 25-17.

Monona Grove 3, Oregon 1
After splitting the first two games (17-25, 25-22), Oregon fell twice to Badger South-leading Monona Grove in a 3-1 loss Monday evening.

Alex Bresser closed out with 11 kills, while Bryn Anderson added six blocks. Dani Edelburg had five aces.

Oregon (3-5 Badger South) is at Madison Edgewood Thursday evening, before coming home to host Stoughton Tuesday evening.

Volleyball: Spikers take on top-tier competition


Matthew Goins
Sports Reporter

Oregon volleyball was tipped on the road in its Badger South Conference match this week.

Middleton Invitational
With several of the top-ranked teams in the state in their way, the Panthers traveled to Middleton Saturday to take part in the annual Cardinal Invitational.

The Panthers opened the day with losses to Lodi (No. 8 in Division 2) and Cuba City (No. 2 in Div. 3). Lodi and Cuba City eventually met for the tournament championship, with Cuba City winning. Oregon did pick up a pool play victory over New Glarus.

In tournament play, the Panthers lost to Belleville, 25-20, 25-20.

Monroe 3, Oregon 1
Hoping to move up the conference ladder Tuesday evening, the Panthers hit the road for a showdown with Monroe.

But victory wasn't in the cards for the Panthers, who fell to the host Cheesemakers, 3-1.

Monroe won game one 25-18 and game two 25-19, before Oregon was able to pull out a 25-20 victory in game three. The fourth game saw the Panthers lose, 25-21.

Haley Grow led the way with 11 kills, while Alex Bresser tallied three aces. Bryn Anderson had three blocks.

Oregon (2-3 Badger South) hits the road hoping for revenge Thursday, traveling to Fort Atkinson. The Panthers then welcome in conference-leading Monona Grove Tuesday evening.

Volleyball: Oregon picks up first victory


Matthew Goins
Sports Reporter
Oregon Observer

Senior Bryn Anderson (12) and junior Katelyn Macaulay go up for a block Thursday against Stoughton. Anderson tallied six blocks to lead the Oregon defensive effort in a 3-1 victory over the Vikings.
Using every inch of their height on the front line, and battling back from mistakes, the Panthers picked up their first Badger South Conference win of the season, a 3-1 decision over local rival Stoughton Thursday evening.

"It feels great, you could tell the kids had a blast," head coach Jackie Simpson said. "Our match against Madison Edgewood woke up the girls, they realized what they could play like if they really put the effort in."

Never able to sustain its momentum, Oregon got a big game out of its front blockers, including a game-high six blocks by senior Bryn Anderson, who seemed to have a pair of hands on every ball the Vikings hit over the net.

"Bryn was an unstoppable force at the net tonight," Simpson said. "One stat that that we don't keep is playable touches that our side can play up, she had a ton of those tonight.

"It's invaluable what she did for us tonight."

The Panthers won the opening game 25-21 on a kill by Brianna Wethal. They had to rally to win game two after Stoughton had pulled ahead 23-21 late. Back-to-back hits out by the Vikings tied the score at 23-all, a tip by Wethal gave Oregon a one-point lead and a hit into the net by Stoughton gave the Panthers the 25-23 victory.

Oregon raced out to a 5-1 lead in the third game, but a run by the Vikings with Rachel Ott serving allowed Stoughton to take a 13-7 lead. The Vikings never relinquished that advantage, winning game three 25-19.

Game four saw Stoughton ease out to a 6-1 lead, but Oregon continued to battle and eventually tied the match at 13-all on an Alex Bresser kill. After Ott and Bresser traded kills to put the score at 14-all, Anderson recorded her fifth and sixth blocks during the same rally, the second of which gave the Panthers a 15-14 lead that held for good as Oregon won the game 25-16 to claim the match victory.

"When we were in a hole, saw ourselves down, we weren't freaking out, we were relaxed and we just kept plugging away," Simpson said. "It was good."

Bresser led the way 17 kills, while Haley Grow and Kelsey Smith each tallied four aces in the win.

Volleyball: Oregon battles but comes up short



Matthew Goins
Sports Reporter
Oregon Observer

Oregon volleyball has had some struggles out of the gate, but the Panthers are close to turning a corner after strong showings over the week.

Monona Grove 3, Oregon 1
Alex Bresser tallied 16 kills, but the Panthers were unable to upend rival Monona Grove Thursday evening in a 3-1 decision.

The Silver Eagles won the first two games 25-22 and 25-16, respectively, before Oregon was able to get on the board with a win. The Panthers took the third game 25-22, but couldn't keep the roll going in the fourth game, losing 25-19.

Brianna Wethal had three blocks, while Allie Rosemeyer had four aces to round out the statistical leaders for Oregon.

Madison Edgewood 3, Oregon 1
Welcoming in the defending conference champion and rival Madison Edgewood Tuesday evening, the Panthers were hoping to right their ship and get on a winning streak.

It was a back-and-forth battle throughout the evening, with both teams separated by two or three points throughout, but that slim advantage was enough as the Crusaders upended Oregon, 3-1.

"We've gotten better, extremely better with each match," head coach Jackie Simpson said. "The players were just focused, we've taken a step up every game now and now we're going to turn the corner."

The Panthers won the opening game 25-23 in dramatic fashion, with back-to-back aces by junior Haley Grow.

But the Oregon squad couldn't sustain that momentum, never able to hold onto a lead once they were able to steal it back from Edgewood. The Panthers dropped the second game 25-22 as the Crusaders rallied late. Edgewood took game three 25-20 as a pair of hits into the net by Oregon, as well as a hit and a tip out of bounds allowed the Crusaders to pull away.

Game four played out similarly to game three, as Edgewood built a 23-16 lead before the Panthers pulled to within four, 24-20, but an over the net call on a potential block was called against Oregon - ending a stellar match in a less-than-stellar way.

"It was a complete battle, both teams were bringing complete energy into each serve," Simpson said. "It was just a back-and-forth battle, if you were the team to pull away by a couple points then you had a pretty good shot at winning and that's all it took at that point."

Bresser again led the way for the Panther attack, tallying 12 kills and three aces on the evening. Grow added three aces, while Brianna Wethal had three blocks.

Simpson believes that her Oregon squad can take the positives away from the narrow defeats and compete better in the coming matches.

"I think the girls finally realized that when they're playing their best volleyball, they can hang with anybody," she said. "If we can play with (Edgewood) now, we can play with anybody now."

Oregon (0-3 Badger South) is at Stoughton Thursday evening, and hosts Milton Tuesday.

Volleyball: Spikers open conference season



Matthew Goins
Sports Reporter
Oregon Observer

Oregon volleyball hit the court for the first time this season over the weekend, taking on several talented teams at the Belleville Tournament before opening the Badger South Conference season.

Belleville Tournament
The Panthers stayed local to open the 2009 season, traveling to Belleville to take part in the Wildcats' annual invitational.

Oregon went 2-1 in pool play, defeating Evansville in the opening match before losing to Fennimore. The Panthers then bounced back with a victory over Fall River to round out the morning play.

Moving into the semifinal round, eventual champion and former Badger South rival McFarland dropped Oregon in three sets (25-20, 7-25, 15-12).

The Panthers then had to square off against Fennimore again in the third-place match, and lost to the Golden Eagles in two sets (25-19, 25-21).

Fort Atkinson 3, Oregon 0
Oregon opened the 2009 Badger South Conference season Tuesday evening with a home match versus Fort Atkinson. The Panthers couldn't pull out the opening win, losing to the visiting Blackhawks in straight sets, 3-0. Individual statistics were not available from the match. Oregon (0-1 Badger South) continues conference play Thursday evening with a road match at Monona Grove. The Panthers will welcome in Badger South favorite Madison Edgewood Tuesday evening for an early-season showdown.


Volleyball: New faces, same expectations


Matthew Goins
Sports Reporter
Oregon Observer

The Oregon volleyball team has flirted with the top of the Badger South Conference for the past two years, battling with Madison Edgewood for court dominance. The Panthers have also seen their share of success in the postseason, winning back-to-back WIAA Division 1 regional championships on their home court.

This season brings in a lot of new changes for the Oregon squad, welcoming in new head coach Jackie Simpson and saying goodbye to standout hitter Emily Franklin, a Division I recruit who has moved on to Stephen F. Austin (Texas) University, and middle attacker Stephanie Arnold, who will play at Eastern Illinois University.

But the cupboard is not bare for the Panthers, who return a pair of all-conference hitters in junior Brianna Wethal and senior Alex Bresser, and look to once again play near the top of the conference standings.

Also back are hitters Haley Grow and Bryn Anderson, as well as defensive specialist Kelsey Smith and setter Allie Rosemeyer

"I think that we have a lot of weapons that are versatile," said Simpson, a former All-American at the University of Wisconsin.

Six letterwinners return to the court for Oregon, and Simpson said that there is a lot to be excited about in what she's seen during the early practices and contact times.

"So far, for our first couple practices the girls are really buying into the new offense," she said. "The girls have been able to play a few different positions, which is nice."

The Panthers will again have to contend with the defending champion Crusaders, who return a standout hitter in their own right in Ashley Ring. Monona Grove and Stoughton also return solid depth around the rotation and will battle in the upper half of the conference standings.

The favorites all meet up early in the season, as Oregon plays at Monona Grove Sept. 3, hosts Edgewood Sept. 8 and travels to Stoughton Sept. 10.

So if Oregon is going to continue its trend of top-ranked finishes, it's going to need to find consistency on the court. But Simpson said there are a few new wrinkles that she'll bring to the team that may help them sneak up on a few teams in the area.

"We're spending a lot of time running different patterns of offense - bringing a lot more quick attacks this year than in the past," she said.

The Panthers open the 2009 season on the road Saturday at the Belleville Tournament. Oregon opens the Badger South season Tuesday when Fort Atkinson comes to town.