2B Volleyball: Rainier Holds Off Riverhawks in Five

Posted

One night after losing to winless Napavine in four sets, Rainier came alive to fend off Toledo in five sets (24-26, 25-21, 25-18, 24-26, 15-10) on the road Tuesday in 2B Central League action.

Brooklyn Swenson served 23 points, including 12 in a row at one point, as the Mountaineers kept Toledo on its heels.

“Today, it was as if last night never happened,” Rainier coach Shauna Carpenter said. “We wanted to play at a faster pace and the girls had to adjust.”

Carpenter praised the performances of Olivia Earsley and Janess Blackburn.

“Olivia is everywhere, absolutely everywhere,” Carpenter said. 

Haley Hanson led the Mountaineers with nine kills, while Ilanys Osorio and Natasha Salinas-Wood each added four kills.



The Mountaineers overcame 27 unforced errors and 12 missed serves.

“They came out wanting to win,” Carpenter said. “Their chatter on the floor, their body language was completely different.”

Toledo was led by senior Brynn Williams’ season-high 16 kills, Lindsey Filla had a match-high 11 digs and Bethany Bowen added 10 assists, three aces and six kills. Aleena Bloomstrom contributed seven digs, two aces and six kills, and Eden Jones had three aces and four kills.

“It was a tough loss for us but we know exactly what we need to work on,” Toledo coach Brianna Klingberg said. “We need to be more consistent in our serving and passing. We’re strong offensively, but we need to push on defense.”

Toledo (3-3, 0-2 league) travels to Onalaska on Thursday. Rainier (3-5, 1-4 league) hosts Adna on Thursday.