While revenge wasn’t on the minds of Adna head volleyball coach Wendie Dotson and the Pirates, a Central 2B League-opening sweep over the Rainier Mountaineers Tuesday, Oct. 8 was a sweeter victory than most.
The two rivals met for the first time since the Mountaineers upset the top-seeded Pirates in Yakima on Nov. 8, 2023. Adna had beaten Rainier three previous times last season but couldn’t win its fourth try and was sent home.
Dotson wanted her team to focus on the present, and her players responded by winning, 25-22, 25-21, 25-17.
“We tried not to focus on [revenge]. We thought that would be a disadvantage. We tried to focus on doing our stuff on our side of the court and letting it play out,” she said. “It was a good battle. We knew it was going to be a tough one coming in.”
Tuesday night’s contest was much tougher for the Pirates than the scoreboard indicated. Rainier often fell behind early in sets but quickly rallied to put pressure on the Pirates. In the first, the Mountaineers trailed for most of the set but took a 15-13 lead to force an Adna timeout. Due to some unforced errors by the Mountaineers, Adna punished Rainier to close out the set thanks to a 6-1 spurt.
The second set was all Adna to start, as the Pirates’ serves were too much for Rainier to handle en route to a 9-1 start. Adna maintained a lead before Rainier embarked on a furious comeback, and the Mountaineers even took a 17-16 lead.
“We don’t give up. We stick with it. We fight no matter what the score is,” Rainier head coach Carrie Ooms said. “We adjust, not as quickly as I would like.”
The Mountaineers couldn’t finish, as Adna once again pulled back in front with a 5-0 run led by more strong serves from the Pirates, who finished with a dozen aces on the night. Rainier’s miscommunication, which was a point of emphasis in the preseason, haunted them in the final moments of the second set.
The third set was a near mirror image of the second, with Adna taking a 6-1 advantage before Rainier tied it and managed to remain within a couple points. Following a 15-15 tie, the Pirates unleashed on offense, exploiting openings in the Rainier defense on their way to a 10-2 finish.
“I think the girls got into their own heads and weren’t quite focusing as much as they should,” Ooms said of the third-set finish. “It was a lack of focus that set them back a little bit.”
While Ooms was disappointed with the outcome, she was proud of how much better her team performed against the Pirates compared to this time last season when Adna took six of seven sets in their two regular season meetings.
“We played really well. We only have a few things that we need to tweak. They’re great competition,” Ooms said. “We’re a much stronger team than what we used to be, both physically and mentally. We’re getting better at reading what’s happening on the court, and we’ve grown a lot.”
Dotson credited her team’s success in part to the return of senior outside hitter and middle back Kendall Humphrey, who played in her first contest in two weeks. In her return, Humphrey recorded eight kills, 10 digs and one ace.
“That helped us because everybody worked as one to get the job done. They’re all very unselfish, and that’s what makes it beautiful,” Dotson said.
Karsyn Freeman finished with a team-best 14 kills and seven aces, as well as 12 digs. Danika Hallom added a dozen kills, eight digs, three assists and one ace. Gaby Guard was perfect at the service line to go along with 34 assists and six digs.
Rainier (8-2, 1-1 C2BL) will return home on Thursday, Oct. 10 to face Toledo (4-6, 1-1 C2BL) at 7 p.m. while Adna (9-0, 1-0 C2BL) looks to remain undefeated with a home contest against Mossyrock (4-3).
