RAYMOND — Four years ago, when Onalaska coach Susan Gordon returned to coach in Onalaska, the program was in the midst of a lengthy rebuilding process.
The Loggers hadn’t made the state tournament in several years, and in 2022, they went 0-16. Since her return, Gordon and her players have set out to get Onalaska back to being a contender.
Flash forward to Saturday night in Raymond, and the postgame hugs and celebrations felt like a culmination.
“It’s just a payoff of the last four years where these guys have worked so hard,” Gordon said. “Everything that they have gone through and that they have fought for together ended today. And it wasn’t one person. We couldn’t have done it without all 14 of these girls today.”
The Loggers needed all five sets to do it, but they outlasted Rainier 27-25, 18-25, 26-24, 22-25, 15-12 in the 2B District 4 Championship Game, securing the program's first district title since 2007, when it won the 1A District 4 title.
“It’s incredibly special,” Gordon said. “When I came back here, this program was devastated. To be able to come back and build it back is totally rewarding.”
Onalaska won Sets 1, 3, and 5, so they were never trailing the match, but in each of the first four sets, they trailed well into the set.
In the first, the Loggers found themselves down 19-10 before going on a 10-1 run to tie the game at 20. Rainier rebounded to take a 24-23 lead, but Onalaska forced extra points and eventually won 27-25.
Rainier built a similar lead in the second set to tie the match at one, and led 17-12 in the third before Onalaska pulled off a similar run before winning in extra points.
“They just continued to believe in themselves,” Gordon said. “They continued to believe that it’s one ball at a time. That ball doesn’t define us. The next ball we’ve gotta make define us. That has been the biggest growth that they have made … Leave that mistake behind and go to the next ball.”
“Even though we were down, I still feel like we trusted each other no matter what,” Braelyn Babb added. “That was a big thing, building trust, over the years. In the beginning, I don’t think we trusted each other. We slowly built that trust every day.”
Onalaska got its best start in the fifth and final set, taking an 8-3 lead thanks to multiple kills from both Faith Hammer and Capri McGraw.
Rainier tallied back to tie the set at eight, and it was tied at nine before Onalaska put itself in position to win it with a 4-0 run.
Moments later, an Emalie Jacoby kill sealed the title.
“I wouldn’t say the outcome is shocking, because I feel like since Day 1, that’s been the goal,” Sommer Hammer said. “We’ve had the same goal all four years.”
Jacoby finished with 32 kills, 25 digs, and 10 assists, while McGraw finished with 15 kills and 12 digs. Hammer added nine kills, two blocks, and three aces, Ellie Jacoby collected 12 digs, Faith Hammer added three blocks and two aces, and Braelyn Babb dished out 42 assists while also logging two blocks.
“We did a good job of staying focused,” Jacoby said. “Sometimes, we’d let our focus go a little bit, but other than that, we did a great job of pulling back. Once we just calmed down a little bit, we did very good.”
The win improves Onalaska to 16-1 on the season, and they’ll enter the state tournament on a 10-game winning streak.
Hammer, Babb, and Jacoby are Gordon’s three seniors, each of which she commended postgame, and she also praised her three juniors: McGraw, Karsyn Koenig, and Faith Hammer.
“I couldn’t have rebuilt this program without the three juniors and the three seniors I have,” Gordon said. “They are phenomenal athletes. They don’t understand how to not work. They have bought into absolutely everything that we have all tried to teach. They have bought into it, lived it, and this last year has been phenomenal.”
Rainier stats were not available as of the time of writing, but will be added to this article if/when they are made available.
Both Rainier (16-4) and Onalaska will learn their state tournament seeds and first round opponent on Sunday, when the WIAA releases the state tournament brackets.
The 2B State Volleyball Tournament begins on Wednesday at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
“We’re so excited,” Babb said. “It’s everything we’ve wanted.”
