Turkey Shootout

Tor played with his Mustangs Basketball team close to home this weekend, at the Kelso Turkey Shootout. The highlights were beating La Center and Woodland to go 3-1 and place 2nd in the 7th grade Silver Division 1.

Tor had a good crowd to come watch him play, including Grannie and Papa Bob.

Miller's Tree Farm

This was the earliest we've ever picked out a Christmas tree, due to a packed sports schedule. We fit in a trip to Miller's Tree Farm in Silver Lake between Tor's basketball game and Mom's night shift, with Grannie and Papa joining us. There was a new section full of nicely shaped trees of the right height, so it didn't take long to find the just-right tree. The kids are so much taller now, they dwarf the tree behind them:

Tor took hold of the saw for a bit to make the final cuts:

Of course, they received a candy cane back at the Miller House after it was all done.

Flapping Wings

Aunt Julie brought cousin Hazel to Grannie and Papa's house while we were there, and we got to see her "flap her wings" when she gets excited, just like Jillian used to do when she was little.

Thanksgiving Feast

We hosted this year's Thanksgiving get-together with 15 place settings. All of the traditional foods were available, and as usual, the mashed potatoes ran out first. There was a kids table, but it was connected to the main table.

We watched several football games afterwards, while laying on the couch and digesting the food enough to have dessert.

Visiting Hazel

We got to see cousin Hazel tonight since Brock and Kalie were in town.

She had lots of floor time, both sitting up and laying on the floor, and was curious of Tor:

Black Friday with the Johnson Kids

Kenny, Rory and Grant came to our house on Black Friday morning to play with Jillian, Bridget and Tor. Everyone stayed very busy playing in the house with the toys, along with lots of games of hide-and-seek (with jump-scares), and we took time out to walk to RA Long for a pic:

Early Wish Lists

The kids wasted no time putting together their Christmas Wish Lists. Bridget kicked it off first, and Jillian and Tor soon followed.

Rise Above Daily

Tor played really well today at the Rise Above Daily basketball tournament in Vancouver, providing his Mustang team with tough defense (and 5 steals) and efficient playmaking at the point. He also scored a few points:

Unfortunately, they lost in the semis to Game time.

Dynasty Dunkfest

This basketball tournament actually took place a couple weeks ago, and Tor's Mustangs Basketball team did fairly well before running into a strong La Center team. Here's the crew:

State VB Recap

The Blast Zone Media posted a follow-up article on RA Long's trip to the State Volleyball Tournament, along with some photos:

High School Volleyball: No regrets for R.A. Long after senior laden State run

Net Work Issues – Lumberjills 'too inconsistent' to advance in first State Tournament appearance since 2009

YAKIMA VALLEY SUNDOME — It’s easy for a volleyball novice to look at a match, see a heavy hitter on the winning side of the net, and assume that the biggest girl, who jumps the highest, swings the hardest, and stacks up twice as many kills as anyone else might have been a problem for the losing team to contend with.

So when Fife’s Talula Lenoir smacked one ball after another off the sport court in the 2A State Tournament at the Yakima SunDome, some reporters began to wonder if she might have single-handedly been responsible for eliminating R.A. Long, Friday, in the 2A State Tournament at the SunDome.

R.A. Long head coach Whitney Nailon made sure to put that notion to bed quicker than a pair of pre-K boys at storybook time.

“We made a lot of hitting errors and our serving game was off. We just weren’t consistent,” Nailon said. “Offensively we could have been smarter and it got away from us.”

Alas, the Lumberjills were unable to close out on a promising start against he Trojans and wound up falling in five sets on the dark side of the bracket. That loss, combined with a sweep at the hands of Tumwater earlier in the day, brough R.A. Long’s season to an unceremonious close on the season’s biggest stage.

In the opening round, the Lumberjills were swept by the No. 4 T-Birds, with set scores of 25-16, 25-19 and 25-14.

Jillian Woodruff greased the wheels for R.A. Long as best she could with a team-high 15 assists to go with three kills, three blocks and five digs. A multi-faceted senior, Woodruff showcased her one-handed “turn and throw” setter dump in both State matches to net quick points while keeping the defense honest for her hitters.

“Setters being an offensive threat is a lost art, and Jillian has that ability to truly dominate a match by just being savvy and dumping,” Nailon said. “She didn’t do that a lot over the last couple years and I put a lot of pressure on her this year to be that offensive threat because we needed it. She did a great job of leading us with that because she’s very smart.”

Ella Eib posted a team-high nine kills with four blocks and four digs for the Jills. Eve Huhta added four kills with eight digs, while Sam Montgomery finished with five digs in the loss.

Those are just a few of the names that should read familiar to R.A. Long fans after the program’s most successful season since 2009.

“Ella carried us. There were matches where she swung 100 times, and that’s hard. It really is. But she did it for the team,” Nailon said. “And then Becca and Sam Montgomery, who at the beginning of the year didn’t think they were going to make varsity, and they stepped into a huge role.”

The loss to Tumwater dropped the No. 13 ranked Lumberjills into the consolation bracket for a dinner time affair against No. 12 Fife. R.A. Long held the advantage after both the first and third sets, and looked clear for landing in the fourth set, but could not put the Trojans away in a five-set season-ending defeat.

The Jills fell by scores of 18-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-23 and 15-12.

Eib tallied a team-high 21 kills (.313 efficiency) with five blocks and eight digs, while Woodruff notched a team-high 29 assists to go with 13 kills, three aces and one block for R.A. Long

Huhta turned in a solid performance for the Jills with nine kills, six aces and six digs, while libero Rowan Ward turned up eight digs.

“Rowan came in and just owned the libero spot and was the team leader we needed,” Nailon noted.

And the Lumberjills’ coach continued to hand out praise for her players even as she began the task of planning the trip back over the mountains about 24 hours earlier than anyone in red and black was hoping for.

“Our seniors all had their moments,” said Nailon, at the conclusion of her 11th season coaching the Jills. “I wouldn’t want to do this with any other group. This has been something that I wanted to do since I started coaching high school, and it doesn’t just happen. It is a lot of sweat. It’s hard work.”

R.A. Long (15-8) finished third in the 2A Greater St. Helens League, third in the District IV Tournament, and wound up one win shy of reaching the final day of the season. The Lumberjills also swept the season’s Civil War series. With all that in the bag, Nailon did her best to put it all in perspective for the most successful bunch of Jills she’s ever coached — and no player better epitomized R.A. Long’s odyssey more than Woodruff.

“When you have a leader like Jillian who has experienced so many close opportunities to go to State — as a coach it was rewarding to have someone who has been leading the program since her freshman year finally get that opportunity,” Nailon explained. “To see Jillian go from knowing what it’s like to miss out on State by two points, and then go into this year’s District match against Ridgefield and sweep, and to again play so consistent in our two matches (at State), says a lot about her character. And that’s what coaches want. We want athletes to grow and have these experiences.”

State Volleyball

Jillian and Bridget made the trip to Yakima with the Lumberjill volleyball team to play in the Sundome at the 2A State tournament this past weekend. After an opening loss to Tumwater, they fell just short in a 5-set loser-out match against Fife, ending one of their most successful seasons in recent memory.

Here's Part 1 of the Blast Zone Media article:

R.A. Long knocked out on opening day of 2A State Volleyball Tournament

Lumberjills swept by Tumwater, fall in five to Fife in elimination match

YAKIMA — R.A. Long’s first trip to the state volleyball tournament in more than a decade and a half did not last as long as the Lumberjills would have liked. In fact, the Jills were knocked out of the tournament on the first day and are still looking for their first win at the tournament since 2009.

The Jills opened the tournament on Friday afternoon with a three-set loss to Tumwater. R.A. Long dropped the contest to the 2A EvCo champion T-Birds by scores of 25-17, 25-19 and 25-14.

R.A. Long appeared poised to secure a return ticket to The Dome later in the evening in its elimination contest against No. 12 ranked Fife. The Jills won the first and third sets, and held an early lead in the fifth frame, but could not get the stops and points they needed to extend their season to the final day on the schedule, falling to the Trojans by scores of 18-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-23 and 15-12.

R.A. Long entered the tournament on the heels of a sweep over Ridgefield for the final State berth out of the 2A District IV Tournament. The Lumberjills’ season ended with a record of 15-8, and third place finishes in both league and district action.

Stats for the Lumberjills matches in the state tournament were not immediately available.

2X 1st Team All-League

Jillian made the 1st Team All-League for 2A GSHL volleyball for the second year in a row, as voted by the league's coaches.

State Volleyball Send-off

The RA Long volleyball team walked out of the school this morning to a big crowd of students and parents and families, cheering for them as they prepared to leave for Yakima.

Coach Luchau put together gift baskets for all of the girls:

On to State!!!

The Lumberjills have punched their ticket to the 2A Volleyball State Championships! It was quite a day, starting with a 0-3 loss to Columbia River in the morning. They dropped to the elimination bracket, where they faced Woodland and went the distance, winning 3-2 after being down in the fifth set 5-10 and coming back to win 18-16. This set up the winner-to-state match against Ridgefield. The Lumberjills trailed only once in the entire match (down 1-4 in the second set), dominating from start to finish and winning 3-0 to take home the 3rd place trophy and a trip to Yakima!

The match against Ridgefield was one of the best played matches by the Lumberjills this season, and possibly in all of Jillian's career, with every player on the court performing at a high level. Jillian continued to lead the team in every aspect, and Bridget made key plays at the net. They are very happy sisters, and their fans are thrilled for them!

Here's The Daily News article:

RA Long volleyball advances to state for 1st time since 2009

TUMWATER — In the District IV 2A volleyball tournament consolation semifinals against Woodland, R.A. Long trailed the Beavers 10-5 in the fifth set. The Jills then came all the way back to win 18-16. Despite the deficit, R.A. Long coach Whitney Nailon knew the outcome was never in doubt.

"Even when we down (10-5) against Woodland, I just thought 'We're still in control, we're still gonna be just fine,' and we were" she said.

However, the Jills still had more work to do with Ridgefield, a team they lost to twice in the regular season, up next in a winner-to-state/loser-out match on Saturday at Tumwater High School.

R.A. Long took the momentum from the finish against Woodland and came out cooking against the Spudders, sweeping them in three sets to claim third place third at districts and advance to the state tournament for the first time since 2009.

"I just think we were on such an adrenaline run from Woodland," senior Jillian Woodruff said. "We were ready to go and ready to come out here and win. We didn't really think about that last two games, we were focused on here and now."

Woodruff has been playing for the Jills since she was a freshman and wanted nothing more than to go to state in her final season. 

Now, she'll finally get the chance.

"It feels so amazing," Woodruff said. "We've been so close the last four years, we've come to this game right here, and it feels so good to finally be able to finally put it all together and win because we put in a lot of hard work all season."

That work showed on Saturday as the Jills played three matches, falling to Columbia River, the four-time reigning 2A state champions, in three sets before their bouts with Woodland and Ridgefield. 

Ella Eib totaled 48 kills and six blocks in the three matches on Saturday. Woodruff had 89 assists, including 46 to go along with nine blocks against Woodland. Eve Huhta had the best match of her career against Ridgefield with 12 kills, one ace, 13 digs and two blocks. She also had 14 kills versus Woodland. Sam Montgomery tallied eight kills and 17 digs against Woodland and had 18 digs in the matchup with Ridgefield. 

And some social media coverage:

And the article from Blast Zone Media:

High School Volleyball: R.A. Long sweeps Ridgefield for final State spot

2A Roundup: Mark Morris and Woodland eliminated on final day of district tournament

 

Prep Volleyball / District Reports

TUMWATER — The R.A. Long Lumberjills are heading back to the state tournament for the first time since 2009 after earning third place at the 2A District IV volleyball tournament over the weekend at Tumwater High School.

R.A. Long secured a berth with a sweep (25-20, 25-15, 25-19) against their league foes from Ridgefield in the bronze trophy match. That stunning victory came after earning a five-set victory against Woodland in the consolation semifinals, when the Jills rallied back in the fifth set to win in extra points after trailing 10-5.

“It feels really good. To sweep them in three, to battle in five against Woodland and be down 10-5, and for them to come back and then sweep Ridgefield, that is just a testament to their mental toughness of the game 100%,” R.A. Long head coach Whitney Nailon said. “That was the best defensive game, offensive — I mean that was the best. It was incredible. What a way to end Districts.”

Nailon said the best part about this team is everyone has had their moment, But on Saturday night it was Eve Huhta who led the way to State when she recorded a dozen kills, one ace, two blocks and 13 digs.

“It’s amazing, our seniors definitely deserve it,” Huhta said. “It was very tiring and I feel like it was a team effort. It really was a team effort and everyone did their best to come together and go point for point.”

Senior Jillian Woodruff, who recently surpassed 1,000 career assists, added 30 more helpers agains the Spudders to go with four kills and six digs. She agreed with her teammate’s assessment of the their success thus far, noting that their desire to get over the hump helped them persevere whenever things went sideways on the court.

“Our coach said there’s two hard ways; we can either beat River or we can go through the loser’s bracket and probably beat Ridgefield so this was our hard that we had to pick and I think we excelled in it,” Woodruff said.

Ella Eib tallied a team-high 14 kills (.419 efficiency), with one ace, and one block in the winh. Sam Montgomery tallied 18 digs with one kill, while R.A. Long libero Rowan Ward notched two aces and seven digs. Bri Garwood chipped in a pair of kills, one aces and seven digs for the Jills.

Woodruff and Huhta agreed that it was incredibly rewarding for all their hard work to finally pay off. That was especially true for the seniors who have played so much volleyball, and come up just short of punching their ticket to State in the past.

The victory over Ridgefield included a bit of redemption as well, after senior middle blocker Evelyn Ofstun was sidelined for the season when she stepped on a Spudders’ foot under the net during the regular season.

Nailon, in her 11th season coaching at her alma mater, was emotional as she celebrated with her team after finally breaking through and earning a spot in the state tournament.

“When we took over (the program), there were a couple seasons we went 0-20 —and boy, that really is an experience — and the last four years we’ve been at Districts. We were so close last year,” Nailon noted.

There was credit due all over the place as she looked around the court.

“Just the mental part of the game this year was the game changer by far. It was incredible, and their ability to just do whatever is needed,” Nailon added. “And our assistant coaches just seeing the court and having a pulse on what we should do next.”

R.A. Long began the tournament with a four-set win against Black Hills last Thursday to earn a spot in the district semifinals on Saturday morning. The Lumberjills faced Columbia River in the semifinals and fell in three sets (25-17, 25-13, 25-12).

Eib posted a dozen kills with two blocks and two digs in that match, while Woodruff put up 13 assists and a half dozen digs.

The Lumberjills then had to play Woodland, coming from behind in that five-set thriller to win by scores of 18-25, 25-19, 25-15, 21-25 and 18-16

Eib tallied 22 kills (.281 efficiency), with three blocks and four digs in that victory, while Woodruff handed out 46 assists to go with three kills, nine blocks and 13 digs.

Sam Montgomery added eight kills, one block and 17 digs, while Ward tallied nine digs. Huhta showed flashes of what was to come in the bronze match by notching 14 kills and eight digs against the Beavers, and Garwood posted four kills with 13 digs.

Nailon said the moment is even more special because of how much the team loves each other’s company.

“It’s really cool and for someone that I just had a baby, and so that’s a lot,” Nailon said. “Just the way that they help me and allow me to coach, be a mom, teach and do all that. It just says a lot about their characters and the families that they come from. When I say they love each other, I mean it. We’ve been through a lot. The fact that we were able to still make it to state, that doesn’t just happen with one person. It’s a team thing, I’m very lucky.”

What’s Next

The Lumberjills promised to spend the rest of the weekend watching film and preparing for their first-round matchup at the 2A State Tournament. R.A. Long was awarded the No. 14 seed and will play No. 4 ranked Tumwater to open the 2A State Tournament at the Yakima SunDome, Friday, at 12:45 p.m.

The Thunderbirds won the 2A Evergreen Conference title, but were swept in the district championship match by Columbia River.

A win over the T-Birds would set the Jills up to play either Fife or Sehome, Friday, at 8 p.m. A loss to Tumwater would send R.A. Long to play on of the same two teams in an elimination game at 6:15 p.m.

“This is the best team I could have ever picked to go to State with,” Woodruff added. “I’m so happy. We were focusing on a lot of defense. I think that really showed through but there’s a lot of other stuff, ball control, that we can work on that will help us get far in State.”

... Along with some more pics:

District Hype

The Jills won their opening volleyball match in the district quarterfinals last night, defeating Black Hills 3-1. They'll now face Columbia River in the semis. Here's the promo flyers being posted on social media:

And here's the Blast Zone Media article:

Lumberjills drop Black Hills in District opener

R.A. Long advanced to the 2A District IV semifinals with a four-set win over Black Hills, Thursday, at Tumwater High School. The Lumberjills claimed victory in their playoff opening contest by scores of 25-16, 18-25, 25-23 and 25-17.

“We continue to show up and focus on the mental part of the game,” R.A. Long head coach Whitney Nailon said. “The team did such a great job of adjusting and not playing frazzled when we were down.”

Jillian Woodruff led R.A. Long’s offense with 34 assists, four kills, one ace, four blocks and seven digs. She recently surpassed 1,000 career assists.

Ella Eib and Eve Huhta each posted 13 kills, with Eib adding two aces, six blocks and 16 digs, while Huhta chipped in three blocks and a dig for the Jills.. Bridget Woodruff tallied five kills, and Bri Garwood turned in a pair of kills to go with four digs.

“Feels really good to get our first win at Districts,” Nailon added.

R.A. Long (12-6) will play Columbia River (16-1) in the semifinals back in Tumwater on Saturday at 11 a.m. A win would clinch a State berth and put the Lumberjills in the District title game against Ridgefield or Tumwater at 3 p.m. A loss to the Rapids would send the Jills to the dark side of the bracket to play Woodland at 1 p.m.

District Volleyball Send-off

Jillian and Bridget and their RA Long volleyball teammates boarded the bus after school to make the drive to Tumwater to play in the district playoffs. They will snack well with all the goodies that parents donated for the trip.

Veterans Day Concert

Tor played the viola with the Monticello Advanced Orchestra in the Veterans Day concert. Papa Ken and Papa Bob attended and were acknowledged for their service.

Paw Patrol, Pizza and a Frog

Tor dressed up as a slice of pizza and joined the Paw Patrol pups - Kenny as Rocky, Rory as Marshall and G-Bob as Zuma - for a very wet trick-or-treating in Castle Rock.

We started at the church parking lot for trunk-or-treat, followed by The Villager senior home, then the fire station, where we met up with Jillian in her frog onesie:

Then we headed up to Grannie and Papa's house to dry out, eat pizza and play around.