Raymond-South Bend defeated Montesano as we review Monday’s Twin Harbors prep sports.

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PREP VOLLEYBALL

Raymond-South Bend 3, Montesano 1

Raymond-South Bend rallied after dropping the first game to defeat Montesano 3-1 on Monday at Montesano High School.

The Ravens (2-2 overall) lost the first game 25-23 before winning three straight 25-18, 25-12 and 25-20 to take the non-league match.

RSB held a 9-5 lead early in Game 1 before the Bulldogs (2-5) rallied to take an 11-10 lead on a block by senior middle blocker Carmen Bennefield.

Monte never relinquished the lead, holding off a late Ravens rally to take the first set when a Ravens shot sailed long out of bounds.

Game 2 was close through the first 30 points of play until Raymond-South Bend took advantage of some Monte mistakes to gain some separation. The Ravens took a 19-13 lead on a block by senior middle blocker Ava Baugher and eventually won the set 25-18 on a kill by senior Kassie Koski.

The Ravens pulled away with a seven-point streak in Game 3 to take a 19-9 lead on another Baugher block.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Raymond-South Bend senior Ava Baugher passes the ball during a 3-1 win over Montesano on Monday at Montesano High School.

Baugher’s presence at the net continued throughout the set, including a turn-and-burn shot for a point to close out the 25-12 win.

Monte responded by taking an early 5-1 lead on a Ravens’ net violation in Game 4 before RSB roared back to tie the game at 6-6 on an ace by sophomore outside hitter Macey Enlow.

The two teams would be tied multiple times until a Ravens run stretched their lead to 14-10, forcing a Monte timeout.

The Bulldogs would trim the deficit to 18-16 and 20-18 but never got any closer down the stretch as the Ravens closed out the set 25-12 on a hammering kill from Baugher.

“Our team is really good at keeping our energy up and that’s how we are able to comeback,” Baugher said of her team’s ability to seize control of games down the stretch. “At the Centralia Tournament, we were behind every game, but we came back every time.”

Baugher had a monster game and caused problems for Monte in the middle. The 5-foot-10 standout had a game-high 24 kills and 15 blocks on the evening.

“My setter and passers were really good, it makes it really easy to be good in the middle,” said Baugher, deflecting credit to her teammates. “The blocking, I’ve done it so long it just comes naturally to me.”

“They are a really good team with a really special player,” said Monte head coach Billie Dickinson, referring to Baugher. “We just made too many small mistakes. Things that are a little out of character for us. I didn’t think we passed as well off the serve as we normally do, so we’ll work on that tomorrow.”

Koski added a double-double with 17 digs and 12 kills while senior Sierra Stepp (16 digs, 6 kills) and Enlow (14 digs, 7 kills) also filled up the stat sheet for RSB, which was playing in just its fourth game this season.

“Mondays always bring a unique set of challenges,” RSB head coach Julie Jewell said. “I thought we started out a little slow. We made some adjustments in Game 2 that paid off. We found some open spots and ran a better offense once we got going.”

Montesano was led by setter Makena Blancas (29 assists), middle blocker Violet Prince (10 kills) and libero Bentley Warne (13 digs).

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano sophomore Violet Prince attempts a kill during a 3-1 loss to Raymond-South Bend on Monday at Bo Griffith Memorial Gymnasium in Montesano.

“Montesano is scrappy. They keep putting stuff back and that is a little frustrating,” Jewell said. “I told (her players), ‘Everything we are used to landing, expect it to come back. Don’t play for that one hit. You’ve got to keep playing.’ This was great for us to develop that tenacity. Montesano covers the floor well.”

“There was a lot we did good tonight, there’s just a few things we have to work on,” Dickinson said. “I was really happy to see us be more aggressive at the net. Violet took some great swings. Carmen had some good swings at the net as well and was smart about her placement. Raymond-South Bend is a really good team. It didn’t go the way we wanted it to tonight, but there were some positives to look forward to as we move into league play.”

Montesano opens 1A Evergreen League play against Tenino at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday in Montesano.

RSB doesn’t play again until a non-league match against Rochester at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 29 at Raymond High School.

RSB 23 25 25 25 – 3

Montesano 25 18 12 20 – 1

Leading players: RSB – Baugher (ace, 24 kills, 15 blocks); Koski (2 aces, 17 digs, 12 kills, 3 blocks); Stepp (16 digs, 6 kills); Enlow (14 digs, 7 kills); White-Kelley (3 aces, 9 digs); San (5 digs); Lewis (3 digs).

Montesano – Warne (13 digs); Wade (dig, 3 kills); Blancas (4 digs, 29 assists); Gooding (9 digs, 2 aces, 9 kills); Perry (7 digs, ace, 5 kills, block); V. Prince (dig, ace, 10 kills); D. Prince (kill); Bennefield (3 digs, 8 kills, 2 blocks).

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Other games

Aberdeen 3, Rochester 0