High School Volleyball Roundup: R.A. Long overcomes lineup changes to sweep Woodland on the road

Playing without one third of their starting rotation, Thursday, the Lumberjills collectively said “So what?”, and went to sweep Woodland 25-22, 25-19 and 25-19 in 2A Greater St. Helens League volleyball action.

“We were missing two of our six rotation starters tonight Kamia Tootoosis-Didier and Harli Witham,” noted RAL coach Whitney Nailon. “We showed grit tonight and proved we, once again, aren’t going to let lineup changes deter our goal of State.”

Stepping into a bigger role for the Lumberjills, Eve Huhta delivered with seven kills, seven digs and a block. Erin White was right there step for step as well, posting five kills and a block.

Jillian Woodruff and Lyla Khlee helped keep R.A. Long in sync in the middle. Woodruff posted 10 assists with five kills and three digs, while Khlee finished with 10 assists, one kill and one dig. Marissa Stacey added a kill and led the Jills’ defense with 11 digs.

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“Marissa started off like the Little Engine That Could and then completely took off with defense in the third set,” Nailon said. “That’s where it gets fun, having her kick it into high hear with reading and playing to win.”

As for the Beavers, Ava Johnson was consistent on offense and defense with 10 assists and 10 digs. Jenna Starr added nine kills and five digs in the loss, while Ella Peterson turned in 12 digs and four kills.

“The Beavs are edging closer to success,” Woodland coach Marcy Gilchrist said. “Things started to take hold tonight, and despite the final outcome we are doing a better job of connecting the dots.”

Gilchrist was also impressed with the play of Sophia Schafer.

“Sophia Schafer rocked the back row for us and had one of her most consistent performances at libero, which helped us find our traction,” the Beavers’ coach said. “It was exciting to see her start to settle in and lead the back row.”

Woodland (1-9, 1-7 league) will play in the Monarch Challenge at Mark Morris High School on Saturday.

R.A. Long (6-3, 5-2 league) currently sits in third place in the league standings and will play at Mark Morris on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Monarchs top Hockinson in five

Mark Morris brought home a road win the hard way, Thursday, falling behind 2-0 to Hockinson before battling back for a 21-15, 19-25, 25-23, 25-15, 15-12 victory in five nerve wracking sets.

“This was a great team comeback. We were down 17-23 in the 3rd set when we decided to turn on the jets,” MM coach Carmen Hewitt said. “Maddy Hetland went back to serve and led us to a 25-23 victory. We never looked back after that.”

Aliyah Yaple led the Monarchs at the net with 17 kills and seven blocks. Hetlund added nine kills in the win, while Zoe Cole turned in 23 assists and six aces, while Laney Fraisier handed out 15 helpers. Cole added 15 digs on defense with Makenzie Henthorn turning in a baker’s dozen.

“Zoey Cole played an amazing game all around. She set, dug the ball, and hit well. I am beyond impressed by her fight,” Hewitt said.

After a loss at Washougal on Tuesday, the Monarchs’ boss was happy with the quick turnaround.

“I could not be more proud of how we rebounded this week,” Hewitt said. “It will be so nice to take this win into the Monarch Challenge on Saturday.

The Monarch Challenge will be held at Ted M. Natt Court and Myklebust Gymnasium beginning Saturday morning with team including Anacortes, Battle Ground, Black Hills, Castle Rock, Elma, Evergreen, Heritage, Hockinson, Kalama, Kelso, King’s Way, Port Angeles, Seton Catholic, W.F. West and Woodland.

Mark Morris (4-5, 4-4 league) will return to league play on Tuesday when it hosts R.A. Long at 7 p.m.

Kelso clobbers Heritage on the road

It was another day and another win for Kelso volleyball, Thursday, as the Hilanders took out Heritage in three sets (25-17, 25-21, 25-14) of 3A Greater St. Helens League action.

Royal Grafton led Kelso with a dozen kills and eight digs. Olivia Chilton added 11 kills and eight service points, while Tru Bettineski put up 11 service points to go with eight digs and three aces.

Natalie Bair and Halle Johnson took turns setting up the kills for Kelso. Bair finished with 16 assists and two aces, while Johnson put up 14 helpers.

Kelso (6-0, 2-0 league) will play in the Monarch Challenge at Mark Morris on Saturday before returning to league action at Evergreen on Tuesday.

‘Nooks breeze through Morton-White Pass

Taking their talents to East Lewis County was no problem for the Chinooks, Thursday, with Kalama heading back down the highway as owners of a 25-23, 25-13, 27-25 sweep over Morton-White Pass in Central 2B League volleyball happenings.

Emily Capen was steady in all phases of the game for Kalama with 10 kills and 14 digs.

Jace Hutchinson paced the offense with 18 assists, while Taylor Hoggatt came away with 34 digs.

Adalyn Davenport was also key for the Chinooks with seven kills and nine digs.

“I am glad we were able to get two wins this week on the road,” Kalama coach Rebecca Clark said. “We will continue to try and grow our mental toughness the next two weeks at practice.”

The road won’t get any easier for Kalama (4-4, 1-0 league) as it turns around to host Adna on Tuesday before heading to Napavine later in the week.

Mules stumble against Onalaska

Wahkiakum suffered another loss, Thursday, but made things interesting along the way before falling by scores of 25-19, 26-24 and 26-24 to Onalaska in C2BL volleyball action.

“Although still a three set loss, my kids showed a ton of improvement tonight, especially offensively,” Wahkiakum coach Kayli Hurley said. “My bench was on fire and really helped out.”

Amirah Abdul Kariem led the Mules with eight kills and seven digs, while Lizzie Kolditz put up five kills and a stuff block. Makayla Davis added 13 assists and two aces in the loss.

Wahkiakum (0-7, 0-1 league) will play at Napavine on Tuesday.

Comets ride out win over Pe Ell

Naselle looked like it was on its way to a sweep over Pe Ell, Thursday, in Columbia Valley League volleyball action, but the Comets got some extra volleyball in anyway. After winning the first two sets, the hosts dropped the third set before closing things out 25-22, 25-23, 19-25, 25-18 over the Trojans.

Nicole Steener led the Naselle offense with 19 kills, while Mylee Dunagan turned in 13 kills and two blocks.

Mylinh Schell dished 31 assists to go with five digs in the win, and Kayli Wirkkala posted eight assists, seven digs, and five kills for the Comets.

Naselle (4-3, 3-2 league) will host Three Rivers Christian on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Clatskanie puts away Faith Bible

Posting their second road win of the week, the Tigers toppled Faith Bible by scores of 25-23, 25-20 and 25-23 in 2A Northwest League volleyball match, Thursday, in Hillsboro.

“It’s been a long week already for these girls who traveled to Nestucca (on) Tuesday and took home the win after a long five set battle,” Clatskanie coach Amanda Baker said. “We came out flat tonight and looking tired. Veterans Natalie Baker and Joey Sizemore were able to pull it together and create energy on the court.

Natalie Baker led the Tigers with 18 kills and three stuff blocks, while Sizemore handed out 19 assists to go with three assists..

“(Sizemore) worked her butt off to make sure no balls were hitting the floor on our side of the court,” Coach Baker said.

Lacey Willis added eight kills and eight digs in the win, while libero McKinsey Doyle had a team-high 13 digs with a perfect night at the service stripe.

Clatskanie (9-4, 6-2 league) will host Gaston on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Columbians stick up Banks

Rainier posted a clean sweep over Banks at home, Wednesday, in 3A Coastal Range League play. The Columbians took the sets by scores of 25-20, 25-15 and 25-15.

“Tonight, we were coming off of some sicknesses and injuries,” Rainier coach Angela Singleton said. “They didn’t let that keep them from playing ball. We had a slow start at the beginning, but we pulled it together, brought the energy up and played our game until the end.”

Lilli Dean connected on eight kills on her 15 attempts for Rainier, while Delaney Forelney came in with a .500 hitting percentage after landing 13 kills.

Lacey Makinson dished 17 assists and posted three aces in the win. Charlotte Wheeler added five assists and five aces for Rainier.

“Lilli and Delaney were killing it offensively while Nicole Hudson, Lacey and Kurston Fortner were defending the court, digging up whatever they sent us,” said Singleton.

Rainier (6-7, 4-2 league) will play at Yamhill-Carlton on Tuesday.

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