On a night where the Rainier High School volleyball team celebrated five seniors, the Mountaineers clobbered Morton-White Pass in a convincing sweep Monday, Oct. 28.
Rainier honored Janess Blackburn, Brooklynn Swenson, Acacia Murphy, Annabelle Whiteman and junior varsity athlete Faithe Jarvis before the match, and the Mountaineers quickly put their emotions behind them and took care of business in their home finale 25-7, 25-16, 25-18.
Rainier’s nine aces highlighted a complete performance from head coach Carrie Ooms’ squad, who swept both matchups against the Timberwolves this season.
“We’ve worked on spot serving this year, and the girls have done an amazing job. I think our serving this year has been the best that I’ve ever seen,” Ooms said. “They all work really hard, and they all pride themselves on making a serve and getting them where they’re supposed to.”
After surrendering the first two points of the opening set to Morton-White Pass, Rainier seized control of the frame thanks to a plethora of kills from Allyson Ooms and Acacia Murphy. Freshman Ellie Pringle contributed an ace immediately after subbing in, and Anika Plowman finished a 25-7 first set with an ace of her own.
Pringle shined in the second set, punishing the T-Wolves with three consecutive aces to help Rainier build another sizable lead. At one point, the Mountaineers had recorded as many aces in the second set as MWP had points. Rainier led by as many as 13, but a series of errors brought the T-Wolves back within six before the Mountaineers put them away with the final two points.
Rainier’s sloppy play continued briefly into the third set as the two Central 2B League foes traded leads for most of the frame. MWP’s final lead was 14-13 before Rainier rattled off eight of the next nine points led by Ooms and Plowman. The Timberwolves could only muster up four points the rest of the set, and Rainier prevailed 25-18.
“I think the girls seem to recognize that they start to play and they can’t. A few girls on the court started talking to each other and picking things up,” Carrie Ooms said of the tougher third set. “I think they just need a little bit of a push from each other.”
It was an emotional night for the group of seniors, who shared the RHS court for the final time. Swenson said many of the seniors have been playing volleyball together since they were in seventh grade.
“It’s emotional and sad, but it’s also exciting to see what the future has for all of us. We all have chemistry, and we’re all really good friends,” she said.
Allyson Ooms led the way with 13 kills and nine digs, while Murphy added seven kills and six blocks and Janess Blackburn tacked on five kills and eight digs. Brooklynn Swenson dished out 17 assists and tallied seven digs, and Katelyn Eckroth logged 12 assists and two aces.
Rainier (13-3, 5-2 C2BL at time of print) closed the regular season with a trip to Napavine (6-9, 2-5 C2BL at time of print), but results were not available before press time. Districts will begin on Saturday, Nov. 2, when the Mountaineers could be looking at a rematch with undefeated Adna.
“I think we’ve got a really good shot. I think as long as the girls continue to play strong and don’t let up, I think we’ll have a great shot,” Ooms said of their chances at districts.
