R.A. Long tests the waters across the lake
The Lumberjills deployed several different lineups and came away with mixed results during Tuesday’s jamboree across Lake Sacajawea on Natt Court. R.A. Long opened the night with a win over Toutle Lake (25-22), then dropped Hudson’s Bay (25-10), before falling to Mark Morris (25-20) and Kalama (26-24) to close out the preseason function.
“Tonight was full of opportunities for our team,” said R.A. Long head coach Whitney Nailon. “It was great to see glimpses of what we need to work on and play with lineups. We had a few ‘Wow, that was awesome!’ moments and a few, ‘Wowza! We need ball control’ moments.”
Ella Eib led the Jills with 20 kills on a .333 hitting percentage, and added 10 digs. Jillian Woodruff dished a team-high 26 assists to go with a team-high four aces for R.A. Long.
Eve Huhta led the Jills’ defense with 11 digs, while Sam Montgomery and Rowan Ward added eight digs each.
After falling to the Monarchs in a Civil-War preview, R.A. Long quickly fell behind Kalama and looked bound for a lackluster finish. However, a flurry of lineup changes helped the Jills rally back to force the set to extra points.
“What I appreciate most is we left on the ‘Wow that was awesome!’ moment and came back from a pretty big deficit against Kalama,” Nailon noted. “Everything started clicking, albeit a little late, but regardless, it was a great way to end the day on the court.”
R.A. Long is scheduled to open the regular season at Black Hills on Thursday. The Lumberjills are set to host Tumwater for their home opener at The Lumberdome, Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m.
