Lady Bombers Sweep The Blue Devils - By Sam Biggs
Our Richland Bomber girls' volleyball team went 3-0 to beat the Walla Walla Blue Devils on Tuesday night. In the last five years, Richland has gone 6-2 against Walla Walla and has swept them most of the time. A Bomber fan said, "[Richland] looks pretty good this year and should win tonight."
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| Photo: Leslie Bautista & Julia Saueressig (RHS Yearbook) |
Richland dominated in the first set of the match. It was back and forth at the start, but then the bombers went on a 6-point run, resulting in a score of 12-7. Walla Walla started to come back and bring the score to 12-10, but Richland then went on another run to pull away to 18-10. Bomber number 13, Jenna Holm, scored multiple points with her killer spikes and served, two of her three aces being the last two plays to win the set with a score of 25-18.
The second set of the match was very back-and-forth, with both teams looking very strong. "Be the first to ten, let's go," was the encouragement by the Richland coaches, leading to two points in a row, making the score 10-8. The set continued to be close, but there was a giant momentum swing when Ella Mcgee served a strong ace, pulling the lead to 20-18. Walla Walla then goes on a four-point run, pulling ahead 23-22. Holm had another cannon of a spike to tie the set. She then scored an ace to lead the Bombers to a 25-23 win in set two.
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| Photo: Leslie Bautista & Julia Saueressig (RHS Yearbook) |
Going into the third and final set of the match, our standout players were Jenna Holm and Ella Mcgee. Jenna had a bomb of a spike and a powerful serve. She also had several blocks in the front, resulting in a few points. Ella is the libero on our Bombers volleyball team. The libero specializes in the back row and can sub in and out with any back-row player at any point in the game. She had great sets and several incredible saves. She also had a very consistent serve.
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| Photo: Leslie Bautista & Julia Saueressig (RHS Yearbook) |
Our final set was very close, with each team scoring two to three points in a row and keeping it tight. Richland did not get to ten first in this set and allowed Walla Walla to pull away by five points with a score of 9-14. In the middle of our comeback, Jenna had a big spike to tie it up at 14 all. Ella Mcgee stepped up to serve, leading us to a ten-point run, making the score 19-14. Walla Walla made a stand and came back to 21-18, but Gracie Moss scored with a spike to give Richland the serve back and pull ahead by three. The set continued to go back and forth and was a close set at the end with a score of 25-23, giving the Richland Bombers volleyball team another won match. Walla Walla falls to 3-4 and seventh in the district, while Richland rises to 5-3 and 3rd in the 3A/4A Mid-Columbia District. In the last five years, the Bomber girls' volleyball team has been 7-2 against the Walla Walla Blue Devils.
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| Photo: Leslie Bautista & Julia Saueressig (RHS Yearbook) |
"They [Walla Walla] tried their best and are getting better." was a remark from a Blue Devils fan. Over the years, Richland has primarily dominated in matchups with Walla Walla, and they continue to demonstrate dominance. I look forward to our next match against the 0-7 Pasco Bulldogs on Thursday, September 28th, where the Richland Bombers have another shot at improving their record and further displaying how strong of a team they are.
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| Photo: Leslie Bautista & Julia Saueressig (RHS Yearbook) |
