MENLO — Experience — and power — meant a lot for Raymond in the first chapter in its volleyball rivalry with Willapa Valley.
Staying on the attack throughout, the Gulls swept the Vikings, 25-11, 25-17, 25-23, in a non-league contest Thursday night at Tenoski Gym.
With junior standout Karlee Freeman sidelined while recuperating from knee surgery, the Gulls (3-1) are starting an all-senior lineup. Even their three juniors have played together since sixth grade.
“When our seniors were ninth-graders, they went 2-12,” Raymond coach Bob Swogger said. “These girls have stuck with it and worked hard to win.”
The Vikings, in contrast, have only two seniors and one junior on a nine-player varsity roster.
The Gulls used a diversified attack to keep the Vikings (2-1) back on their heels for most of the distance. Junior Maddi Murray came off the bench to lead the attack with six kills. Seniors Hailee Smith and Mikayla Collins added four kills apiece.
To demonstrate the nature of the match, Valley’s most noteworthy statistics were digs. Sisters Abby and Grace Hodel combined for 43 digs, with Abby bringing up 23.
“I think they simply overpowered us,” Viking coach Lori Snodgrass said. “We’re young and we don’t have the timing on our hits yet. They’re a well-seasoned team and we’re not there yet. But we’ll get there.”
With Willapa Valley plagued by hitting errors and communication lapses, the first two stanzas went quickly.
Winter Newman served eight consecutive points to put Raymond in command in the opening set.
Smith utilized her jump serve to hammer out the first five points of the second set. Aubree Gardner, Smith, Collins and Murray each put down kills during a 8-1 Raymond spurt later in the set.
The Vikings finally found an offensive flow in a seesaw third set in which the Gulls utilized several players in unfamiliar positions.
Libero Brooke Friese delivered a kill from the back row and Katelyn McGough converted Sidney Pollard’s set to give Valley a 22-21 lead.
Newman’s kill produced a side out and two Valley hitting errors gave the Gulls match point at 24-22. A Raymond carrying violation prolonged matters, but Makenna Williams set up Smith for a match-ending kill.
Although the Gulls had a sub-par serving night, Swogger liked his team’s passing and defense. Murray had 19 digs, Smith 16 and Gardner 15.
Grace Hodel and McGough had 100 percent serving nights for the Vikings. McGough was also credited with fine passing.
Willapa Valley took the JV contest, 25-8, 25-18.
The Gulls will compete in the Mossyrock Tournament on Saturday. The Vikings host Ocosta on Tuesday.
