High School Volleyball: Mark Morris hosts jamboree to set prep season in motion

The Bridge – Rainier Columbians sweep Knappa with new coaching staff at the helm

Sep 03, 2025

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HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL

NATT COURT – The Mark Morris Monarchs helped usher in the high school volleyball season by hosting a five-team jamboree Tuesday night at Bakamus Gymnasium. Joining the Monarchs in the truncated preseason action were R.A. Long, Kalama, Toutle Lake, and Hudson’s Bay.

The Monarchs went 3-1 on the evening, with each contest limited to just one set between the various schools. Mark Morris defeated Hudson’s Bay (25-8), Kalama (25-13), and R.A. Long (25-20), but lost to Toutle Lake (25-18).

“I was extremely proud of how we showed up tonight,” said Mark Morris head coach Carmen Hewitt. “We had a goal of winning the serve game, and we certainly did that. We were able to keep opponents out of system from the first touch.”

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Rio Dieter led the Monarchs with 18 service points, including nine aces. Aela McNeilly added 16 service points with eight aces, while Lexi Gunter added 14 service points, four aces and a team-high 18 digs on the night.

Alena Anderson led the hosts with 15 kills to go with four blocks across the four sets. Alexa Harrison added seven kills and McNeilly posted a half dozen. And Dieter was in the middle of it all with 32 assists in the jamboree action.

“Rio did a stellar job of distributing the ball while staying offensive,” Hewitt said. “Lexi led our defense well and modeled the scrappy play we strive for.”

Mark Morris is set to open the regular season with a league contest next Thursday, Sept. 11, at home against Woodland at 7 p.m. The Monarchs will host Kalama two days later for a Saturday showdown at 2 p.m.

“I am really excited about this great start,” Hewitt noted. “We are going to do some great things this season.”

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.

Rainier sweeps Knappa for first official win of the Allen era

The Columbians got an early jump on the prep volleyball season last week with a loss to Clatskanie in the Highway 30 Hootenanny. But Rainier picked up its first official win of the season, and the first under the direction of new head coach Autumn Allen, with a sweep at home over Knappa on Tuesday.

Rainier won that County Line Clash by scores of 25-22, 25-20 and 25-19.

“Nevaeh Owen had great all-around play, making an impact both offensively and defensively,” Allen noted.

Taylor Johns led the Columbians with a team-high eight kills, while Joleen Hansen held serve for the hosts during crunch time.

“With energy, focus, and teamwork (we) continue to build momentum this season,” Allen noted.

In the under the radar Hootenanny last Thursday, the Columbians fell three sets to one at Clatskanie.

“We lost at Clatsakanie, but the girls still played great,” Allen noted.

Seniors Lilli Dean and Johns led the Columbians at the net in the loss, and opponents can expect that duo to keep the pressure on all season. And the new coaching staff at Rainier hasn’t been limited when it comes to promising early observations.

“In the back row, Nicole Hudson and Miranda Guinto provided rock-solid defense and consistent passing, controlling the tempo of the game,” Allen said. “Making her debut (was) new setter Lucy Pedretti from Italy. (She) shined with all-around skill, seamlessly connecting with hitters and bringing fresh energy to the squad.”

The Columbians were back in action last weekend at a tournament in Warrenton where they fell to Clatskanie again (2-0), before defeating Nestucca (2-1). Stats for those contests were not available.

Allen is joined on the coaching staff by fellow 1994 Rainier graduate, Molly Moon. Both Allen and Moon were on the Columbians’ volleyball teams that repeated as State champions in 1992 and 1993. Moon went on to play D1 volleyball at Long Beach State.

“Molly and I, we’re literally a team,” Allen said.

Allen was previously an assistant coach with Three Rivers Christian in Longview, and spent the past two years coaching volleyball at Rainier Middle School. These days she’s been staying busy recruiting volleyball players out of the hallways at Rainier High School, and she likes what she sees so far.

“Girls are coming back to play who’d left the program previously,” Allen noted. “The program’s growing. Which is great.”

The Columbians will also feature seven seniors on the roster this season, and that group is looking to create a culture shift up on the hill before their time in green is through.

“We’ve got girls who can play multiple positions. We even tweaked our lineup yesterday, just the day before a game… but it’s working out,” Allen said. “Our goal is to be league champs. We’re manifesting that, even though it’s been a while since that’s happened.”

Rainier (1-1) is set to play at Seaside on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The Columbians will play in a tournament at St. Helens High School on Saturday.

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