LA GRANDE — La Grande fell to .500 after a 3-2 loss to The Dalles on Tuesday, Aug. 29.

The night proved to be a seesaw battle between the nonleague teams with the Riverhawks opening the match with a 25-18 win. The Tigers returned to claim the second set, 25-21. The momentum continued for La Grande into the third set with the Tigers winning 25-18. Rebounding in the fourth set, The Dalles managed a 25-23 win, forcing the match into the shortened fifth set. The Dalles left La Grande with the match win after a 15-7 victory.

“We just could not close out the match after falling in that fourth set,” La Grande head coach Melinda Becker-Bisenius said. “Hitting errors hurt us and we need to cut down the mental mistakes. We need to learn to let one mistake go and we are still fine tuning the lineup.”

Even with the loss to the Riverhawks, Becker-Bisenius forecasts a good year for the Tigers.

“We return eight varsity players this season and we have the pieces to the puzzle,” she said. “We just have to figure out where those pieces fit.”

Junior Aubrey Bisenius led the offense with nine kills and added 13 assists. Senior Rylan Mellinger ended the match with seven kills and senior Avery Meyer had 16 digs.

La Grande (2-2 overall) heads down Interstate 84 to Pendleton on Aug. 31 for a two-match day. Starting at 1:30 p.m., the Tigers take the court against Mountain View (1-2 overall). Immediately following and starting at 3 p.m., La Grande meets Redmond (0-4 overall).

Grant Union 3, Union 1

UNION — After a championship at the Hanna Cashell Memorial Tournament, Union suffered its first loss of the season, falling 3-1 to Grant Union on Tuesday, Aug. 29.

Union opened the match with a 25-23 victory. The Prospectors evened up the match with a 25-15 win in the second set and followed up with a third-set victory, 25-17. Grant Union closed out the match with a 25-22 win in the final set.

Union (3-1 overall), after playing four matches in four days, has some time to get back to the practice court as the Bobcats next scheduled match is Sept. 8 against Echo (1-2 overall) in the league opener for both teams. The two teams hit the court at 3 p.m.

Trinity Lutheran 3, Imbler 0

IMBLER — After a 1-1 showing at the Hanna Cashell Tournament over the past weekend, the Imbler volleyball team returned to the home court on Tuesday, Aug. 29, losing to the Saints of Trinity Lutheran in a 3-0 decision.

The first set proved to be the closest of the three with the Panthers falling in a tight 25-23 decision. The second set saw Imbler unable to get the offense going as Trinity Lutheran cruised to a 25-17 win. The match ended with a third set, 25-19, win by the Saints.

In the loss, Jayda Cant finished with five kills and four blocks. Mikinah Browne ended her night with eight digs and Rachael Stirewalt added five kills. Jeytt Cant and Alex Patton each had three service aces against the Saints.

Imbler was scheduled for a busy Aug. 30, hosting both South Wasco County and Central Christian in the Panther gym.

Trinity Lutheran 2, Cove 1

IMBLER — New volleyball coach Chantele Burgess and the Cove volleyball team made the trip to Imbler to open the season versus nonleague opponent Trinity Lutheran on Tuesday, Aug. 29.

Trinity Lutheran breezed through the first set, winning 25-12. The Leopards came back in the second set early before falling by a 25-15 score. The match ended with the Saints rolling to a 25-11 third-set victory.

Cove was scheduled to be back before the home fans on Aug. 30 hosting both Central Christian and South Wasco County.

Powder Valley 3, Central Christian 0

Powder Valley 2, South Wasco County 1

NORTH POWDER — The Powder Valley volleyball team apparently is attempting to prove the state coaches preseason poll is correct.

The Badgers opened the season with two victories before the home crowd on Tuesday, Aug. 29, in the Powder Valley gym.

Meeting Central Christian in the first match, the Badgers made quick work of the visitors from the Mountain Valley League, winning 3-0. Powder Valley started the match with a 25-11 first-set victory and immediately placed the Tigers down with a second set, 25-10, win. The final set proved a bit closer with Powder Valley closing out the game with a 25-22 win.

Powder Valley was immediately back on the court to face South Wasco County, from the Big Sky League. The first set proved to be all Badgers with Powder Valley winning 25-8. South Wasco County was able to mount some offense in the second set with Powder Valley winning 25-13. The match was completed with Powder Valley taking the win with a 25-21 victory in the third and final set.

Powder Valley (2-0 overall) was scheduled to host Trinity Lutheran on Aug. 30.

The busy week of home matches continues for the Badgers on Aug. 31 as Powder Valley begins 1A Old Oregon League play hosting Pine Eagle (1-0 overall). The first serve is scheduled for 5 p.m.