ROCHESTER — The week leading up to Allyson Ooms’ 18th birthday was quite strange.
Her Rainier Mountaineers played three non-league games — all wins in straight sets — and only practiced once. On Friday, Sept. 25, Rainier lost power, and the volleyball team was unable to practice.
Then, on Ooms’ birthday on Monday, Sept. 28, the Mountaineers traveled to Rochester for a non-league matchup to cap off a span of four games in seven days, compared to just their one organized practice on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
It’s safe to say that Rainier is not in urgent need of a normal week of practice. The chaotic week has seemingly made the Mountaineers stronger.
Rainier pounded Rochester 25-15, 25-11, 25-10, Monday night for its fifth consecutive victory. The Mountaineers only trailed for one point all night — 4-3 in the second set.
“We were mixing up our serves and going to different spots. Our offense was able to use our entire front row,” Rainier head coach Carrie Ooms said. “It’s kind of weird for us to play on a Monday night. That threw things off. We didn’t have practice on Friday because we were out of power, so that was a wrench in our gears, but I think we played well overall.”
Rainier and Rochester scrapped with one another early in the first set, with the Warriors forcing four ties. The fourth tie at 12-12 prompted Coach Ooms to call a timeout, and the Mountaineers brought a different energy out of the huddle. They finished the first set on a 13-3 run, sending blistering serves at the Rochester back row that were often too hot for the Warriors to handle.
Allyson Ooms recorded four kills and an ace in the first set, and 6-foot-2 sophomore Lexi Beckman didn’t allow many attacks to slip past her fingertips in the middle.
After a 25-15 first-set defeat, the Warriors surrendered the first three points of set two before taking their first lead on four unanswered points behind kills from sophomore Karmae Hines and junior JoleighRae Baker-Fletcher.
Rainier proceeded to bury Rochester with a 9-0 run as the Mountaineers offense capitalized on what Warriors head coach Courtney Baird called “a lot of free balls” from her team. Allyson Ooms provided six kills in the frame, and Rainier coasted to a 25-11 second-set win.
“We were giving them a lot of easy balls, and when you give a team that has a heavy offense like that a lot of free balls and easy shots, they can set up their offense pretty easily,” Baird said. “They were just jamming balls at us all night long, and we had no answer.”
The third set was all Mountaineers. A 10-0 run, mostly scored off of Rochester attack errors, gave them a 21-7 lead. Rainier held onto its big lead to win 25-10.
Allyson Ooms led Rainier with 14 kills, 12 digs and two aces on her birthday. The reigning Central 2B League MVP is the lone senior on the varsity roster and one of only two upperclassmen. She’s a more confident player than ever this year because of her beach club training and years of experience at Rainier.
“You have to put your game face on for the younger girls. I know that all the girls look up to me,” Ooms said. “From me being a little freshman scared of the seniors, it’s a really big difference.”
The team sang “Happy Birthday” to her after the win and celebrated with carrot cake. Ooms’ younger sister Emma has joined her on the team this year as a freshman defensive specialist who made an impact in the back row against Rochester.
“It’s amazing as a mom and as a coach to see my kids doing what they love,” Carrie Ooms said.
Rochester was led by Hines’ four kills and 10 digs, and libero Jessanie Quarles had 15 digs. But the Warriors struggled in serve receive throughout the night as Rainier’s Ellie Pringle and Courtney Eckroth each recorded three aces.
But even when Rochester was able to send the ball back over the net, Allyson Ooms was a force to be reckoned with at her signature outside spot.
“She is just impossible to stop. You can’t slow her down, and you have to just try your best to at least get a touch to maybe slow it down a tad,” Baird said of Ooms. “She was really killing us out there. We just did not have it tonight. We did not show up to play very well.”
Rainier (7-1) will return home Wednesday, Sept. 30 to face Napavine (3-4) in a non-league matchup, while Rochester (2-8, 0-2 Evergreen) has a quick turnaround, facing Montesano at home Tuesday night.
