The Rainier High School volleyball team has wrapped up its regular season and is off to a strong start in the 2B District 4 Tournament.
After falling short at Adna, the top seed in the Central 2B League, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, the Mountaineers opened postseason action at Raymond High School with a 3-1 victory over Onalaska and a sweep of Forks on Saturday, Oct. 28. With the victories, they set up a rematch with Adna in the district semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 1. Results were not available as of press time.
Head coach Carrie Ooms said that the Mountaineers were a little slow warming up in the first set against Onalaska in the district tournament opener, falling 25-22, but they came into form in the final three and then continued the momentum against Forks.
“We played well as a team, and I’m looking forward to our game on Wednesday,” she said.
The winner of the district semifinal match received a state bid and will play for the district championship against the winner of the semifinal match between Napavine and Toutle Lake, two teams Rainier defeated during the regular season. The loser between Adna and Rainier will continue to battle for the district’s remaining seeds at the state tournament in the lower bracket on Saturday, Nov. 4.
“Adna’s not unbeatable,” Ooms said after the loss to the Pirates on Oct. 25. “But they played the better game.”
The Mountaineers finished the regular season with a 14-4 record, 7-2 in league play — good for the third seed in the district tournament behind Adna and Toutle Lake.
Four Mountaineers were honored on the All-League team, announced Monday, Oct. 30. Junior Acacia Murphy was named to the All-League first team, and freshman Allyson Ooms earned second-team honors. Juniors Brooklynn Swenson and Janess Blackburn were honorable mentions.
