Onalaska volleyball second-year coach Jenny Hamilton knew what she and her team would be facing while taking the long road trip along state Route 6 to Raymond.
She knew the Seagulls were loaded and would provide a tough test for the Loggers on opening night Tuesday.
The Loggers couldn’t keep up with the Seagulls’ powerful hitters and crisp passing in a three-game sweep (15-25, 10-25, 17-25) in non-league play.
“They’re solid all the way around,” Hamilton said. “They’ve got three hitters and really good servers. We just tried to prepare the best we could.”
Hamilton and her team had been running two different rotations in practice in preparation for this game, but she decided to stick with just one the first two sets and wing it. It didn’t take long to for her to see it wasn’t going to work.
“I’ll never have that happen again,” Hamilton said. “I’ll always come prepared with two rotations from now on.”
The Loggers still saw some bright spots from their hitters. Morgan Hamilton led Ony with 10 kills, 12 digs and served 100%. She was praised for her serve-receive as well.
Dakota Hamilton added six kills, a team-high 10 assists and was 12-for-14 serving with three aces. Hannah James added four kills and six digs.
“We have three good hitters, they just need to trust themselves and swing,” Hamilton said. “We’re a better team this year, even though it didn’t show in the first game.”
Onalaska (1-0) hosts Winlock on Thursday.
Rainier couldn’t keep pace with a much-larger Yelm squad in a set-sweep road defeat (18-25, 21-25, 18-25) in its season opener Tuesday.
Second-year Rainier coach Shauna Carpenter praised the play of senior Natasha Wood for her all-around performance.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the girls,” Carpenter said. “They stepped into a game with a school four times their size and never backed down once. Our setters stepped up and the freshmen did their job.”
Rainier (0-1) hosts Tenino in a non-league rivalry game on Wednesday.
