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The Rainier High School volleyball team is steamrolling its opponents to begin the 2024 campaign, earning its fourth straight win and third consecutive by sweep against Hoquiam on Tuesday, Sept. 17.

But despite the hot start to the year and Tuesday night’s gritty victory — 25-18, 25-22, 25-22 — head coach Carrie Ooms is disappointed by the team’s lack of communication at times.

“Tonight was a little rough on some points. Our communication definitely was not as strong as it has been,” she said. “Our last few games, it has been there, but tonight was a little more quiet on the court than what we’ve been.”

When the Mountaineers were in sync with each other against the Grizzlies, they looked unstoppable and primed for a blowout. But the lack of communication kept Hoquiam close, as Rainier never led by more than nine in any of the three sets. 

After Hoquiam took a 2-0 lead in the first set, the Mountaineers rattled off seven straight points, including three combined blocks by seniors Acacia Murphy and Janess Blackburn that landed on the Grizzlies side of the court. The middle blockers were a force to be reckoned with in the first set, as Hoquiam struggled mightily to get the ball over their outstretched arms. Murphy blocked a pair of Hoquiam attempts in the first set, while Blackburn logged two aces en route to a 25-18 win in the opening set.

“[Acacia] works hard to get to every ball for an attack. She works hard to just be bigger than the other people on the court,” Ooms said. “She hates it when the ball gets by her if there’s something she could have done to stop it.”

The second set was even more of a test for the Mountaineers as neither team led by more than three points. Murphy and Allyson Ooms took over in the second, combining for seven kills while Ooms tacked on an ace that narrowly landed in bounds to close out the set, 25-22.

Rainier appeared poised to deliver the crushing blow in the third as the Mountaineers scored the first six points, with Blackburn largely responsible for three. They built multiple six-point leads, but the Grizzlies used a 7-1 burst to jump in front, 18-17. Following a Rainier timeout, the Mountaineers cruised to the finish line with an 8-4 run led by strong defensive play from freshman Ellie Pringle and a pair of kills from Ooms.

Pringle, the lone freshman who has earned significant playing time so far, has caught the eye of her head coach through the first four games.

“She’s done amazing. I know she came into this season hoping to set, and she’s become an amazing defensive specialist, and her passing has been phenomenal,” Carrie Ooms said. “She hasn’t had any off nights so far, and she’s proved herself at practice and has really worked hard in games.”

Carrie Ooms has a veteran crew that has played together for years and competed alongside each other on big stages. This experience gives her the knowledge of when to call timeouts and make adjustments. She utilized three timeouts during the game — one in each set — and Rainier seemed to be at its best fresh off of those breathers.

In the opening set, Ooms called for time with a 19-15 lead after four straight Hoquiam points, and the Mountaineers responded with a 6-3 spurt, showing improved communication from before the timeout. Rainier rattled off four straight points after Ooms called a timeout down 10-7 in the second, and the Mountaineers looked composed in the final moments after a break late in the third.

“I think over the past few years, I’ve gotten to know the girls and what they need to hear, what motivates them, what pushes them to do better or what they need to hear to make the changes they need to make,” she said.

The Mountaineers (4-0) will look to continue their winning streak and quickly improve their communication skills against Cascade Christian School in a road match scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18.