Heading into its final regular season match on Wednesday, Oct. 25, the Rainier High School volleyball team had won 21 of its last 22 sets en route to a seven-match win streak.
The win streak includes an emotional win against Napavine on Thursday, Oct. 19 in front of a packed, raucous home crowd on senior night. The Mountaineers swept the Tigers, 28-26, 25-19, 25-19, in a match against one of the top teams in the Central 2B League.
“It means a lot. Napavine is a tough competitor, so it thrills me that we beat them,” head coach Carrie Ooms said. “We’ve worked hard to get to this point. It’s a pretty amazing feeling, and I’m proud of my girls.”
The team celebrated the win by spraying water bottles in the locker room and screaming with joy. Senior Lilly Johnson, who recorded 16 digs in the win, said the win against a premier opponent was worthy of the celebration.
“The vibes in the locker room were crazy. My voice is just gone from screaming so much,” she said. “We’re all feeling great.”
The Mountaineers also swept Toledo High School on Saturday, 25-16, 27-25, 25-19, in their home finale and swept Onalaska High School on Monday, 25-13, 25-21, and 25-20 to improve to 12-3 and 7-1 in league action.
The Mountaineers had a chance to clinch the league title in a road match against Adna High School (8-0) on Wednesday, but results were not available as of press time. A win against the Pirates would set Rainier to host half of the first- and second-round matchups at the district tournament on Saturday, Oct. 28. Raymond, the Pacific league winner, will host the other half.
