EUGENE — The defending state champs won’t be vying for a second title in. Instead, they will have to settle for taking a run at the fourth-place trophy as Sheridan was blanked by top-ranked Santiam Christian in the opening round of the OSAA 3A Volleyball State Championships in Eugene on Friday morning.

Despite the loss, Sheridan bounced back in the consolation round, shutting out Portland Adventist in three games to move into the consolation final to determine fourth place.

“This morning we were business and fun, but now we’re all fun,” said senior Amber Moser. “We just want to finish out winning ... We just want to have fun now.”

Sheridan will hit the court for its final match of the season at noon today, bidding farewell to seven seniors in the process. The Spartans will play the winner of the 8 a.m. matchup between Riverside and Creswell.

In the morning’s first matchup with Santiam Christian, the Spartans got off to a hot start. Sheridan jumped out to a 9-3 lead thanks to a quick five points to start off the game. But the Eagles slowly but surely worked their way back up, keeping the score close. Santiam Christian finally snagged a 17-16 lead and didn’t look back, taking the first game 25-20.

Game 2 started much the same way with Sheridan earning an 8-1 advantage thanks to a fired-up Moser who slammed down four kills in the Spartans’ first two runs. But proving why they are the top-ranked team in the state, the Eagles again whittled away at the Spartan lead.

Still, Sheridan looked like it might run away with the game, going up 20-14. But the Eagles built a six-point run of their own at just the right time to even things at 20. From there, it was nothing but a back-and-forth battle for points. After tying the score at 24, the Eagles earned the next two points — one on a Sheridan hitting error and one on a big kill State to take it 26-24.

In the third and final game of the match, the Eagles were bound and determined to get the sweep. The score was much closer from the start than the previous games. Sheridan took a slight lead, but the Eagles were able to tie the game at nine. Then, down 10-9, the Eagles rattled off nine consecutive points to give them momentum for the rest of the match. The Eagles cruised to a 25-16 win in the decisive game.

“We played pretty well,” Sheridan coach Matt Leichty said after the loss. “In most rotations, we were beating them.” But costly Eagle runs are what did in the Spartans, Leichty said. “That was one of our big goals, to stop that run.”

Moser led Sheridan with 11 kills and three blocks. Olivia Hamilton had nine digs. Hanna Ellis dished out 18 assists and Kayleigh Whelchel had two aces.

“I didn’t feel like we hit the ball as well as we could,” Leichty added.

Sheridan’s second match of the day was decidedly different in tone than the previous. A relaxed Spartan squad even looked a little too relaxed in their sweep of Portland Adventist.

“We made a lot of errors I wish we wouldn’t have made,” Leichty said. “But we played well enough to win.”

Game 1 stayed tight at first, but most of the Cougars points came off of Sheridan blunders.

Despite the errors and no long runs, Sheridan took the opener, 25-17.

In the second game, Sheridan used a six-point run to start things off. But the Cougars kept things close. Both teams were making spectacular digs and defensive plays.

Knotted at 22, Sheridan got two kills, one from Whelchel and one from Moser. Chip in a Cougar error and Sheridan claimed a win, 25-23.

In Game 3, the Cougars looked to make things interesting. After Sheridan scored the first point of the match, Portland Adventist went on its biggest run of the match, pounding out six points. But Sheridan answered with a run of its own, outscoring the Cougars 12-2 on their next two services. The Spartans went on to win the game 25-17.

In the consolation match, Moser tallied 16 kills along with seven blocks. Ellis passed out 34 assists. Whelchel added in nine kills and seven digs, while Chelsei Hall had two aces.

And with one game left in until the 2009 season is officially in the books, there is only one thing Leichty hopes his team will do in its final match.

“We want to come out and play hard,” he said. “We have seven seniors and they want to come out and have a good showing.”