The rest of the country is taking notice of Central Oregon volleyball.

Crook County senior Makayla Lindburg and Culver sophomore Shealene Little, both of whom led their respective teams to state titles this past fall, have been awarded various all-America honors by the

high school sports website, MaxPreps.

Lindburg, who has committed to play at the University of Portland after graduation, was named to the MaxPreps Medium School All-American first team. Little received MaxPreps Small School third-team honors and was also selected for the MaxPreps Sophomore All-American team.

The two volleyball standouts were instrumental in their teams’ championship runs. Lindburg, who also

was named Oregon Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) athlete of the year (all sports) for 2012, recorded

477 kills, 276 digs and 93 blocks while leading the Cowgirls to their seventh consecutive state title. Little

was equally impressive, ending the 2012 season with 502 kills, 102 service aces

and 212 digs.

Former Lava Bear named coach at Alaska Fairbanks

Mallory Larranaga, a former Bend High volleyball

standout who also coached at Mountain View High, has been named the head volleyball coach at her college alma mater, the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Larranaga, whose maiden name is Bergstrom, starred for the NCAA Division II Nanooks from 2001 to 2004, ending her career as the school’s all-time leader in kills and second in digs. In 2010 she was selected as the first volleyball player to be inducted into the Nanook Hall of Fame.

An assistant coach for UAF for the past two years, Larranaga spent the 2008 to 2010 volleyball seasons

at Bend’s Mountain View High School. She led the Cougars to the state playoffs all three years, including a state runner-up finish in 2008.

“It’s unbelievable and really hasn’t sunk in,” Larranaga said at a press conference on Monday in Fairbanks. “This is my dream job. I’m not going to tell anyone anything different. It gives me a lot of

pride to come back, be an alum and understand what it takes to have excellence here at UAF and then also in athletics.”

Ex-Summit baseball player to receive national award

Kevin Hamann, who last spring as a senior led Summit High baseball to the Class 5A state final, will receive an American Baseball Coaches Association

All-American award this weekend at the Northwest Baseball Coaches Convention in Portland. Hamann,

who went 16-1 as a pitcher last season for the Storm, was selected to the ABCA/Rawlings All-American

third team last summer.

Sisters High schedules bingo benefit

Sisters High has scheduled a bingo fundraising event for Feb. 4. For $15, participants at the “Outlaws Together Bingo Winter Edition” will be entitled to 11 bingo games, which will reward winners with cash prizes. The event will include an auction and a bake sale; pizza, drinks and candy will be available. The school hopes to stage several other bingo nights throughout the year.

For more information, contact Sisters High athletic director Tim Roth at 541-549-4050 or at tim.roth@sisters.k12.or.us.