The Ridgefield Spudders volleyball team has dominated with a 4-1 league start, with their one loss against the defending 2A state champions and 2A Greater St. Helens League rivals, the Columbia River Rapids.
The Spudders battled the Rapids to five sets, with Columbia River ultimately taking the win. But Ridgefield bounced back with three straight league wins without dropping a set. The Spudders overcame a few early-set mishits and miscues to finish in three sets against the Hockinson Hawks, 25-15, 25-16, 25-9, on Thursday, Sept. 25.
As the Spudders continue to progress through the season with a junior-heavy team, a sophomore stands above the rest in this strong year of building varsity experience. At 6-foot-6-inches, sophomore Piper Moog is a towering force at the net.
“She’s such an awesome, neat kid; very positive, eager to get better,” Ridgefield head coach Sabrina Dobbs said of Moog. “And you can see she’s getting better every year, and she’s just a sophomore. So I can’t wait to see what she’s going to be like when she’s a senior and gets recruited by some big colleges.”
For the Spudders as a whole, the team is composed of three seniors, six juniors, the towering sophomore and two freshmen.
“We still have a lot to learn,” Dobbs said. “But we have a pretty powerful all-around back row, front row and our middle blockers are great. Our outside hitters are phenomenal. A lot of talent on this team this year.”
In the three-set win over Hockinson on Sept. 25, Dobbs said her players were consistent on the court and succeeded at faster sets and a broader variety of sets to score. Dobbs added that serving and timing on blocks and kills greatly improved throughout the match.
Each game is building experience for a huge rematch against the Columbia River Rapids on home court on Thursday, Oct. 9.
“I think Columbia River and us are going to be an even match again,” Dobbs said. “So I think it’s all about who’s going to get the best out of that. So, playing against them, I saw that we both have great outside hitters. We’ve got a strong back row, strong front row, so I think it’s just going to be who’s going to get the win in the next game.”
The Ridgefield and Columbia River high school volleyball programs are Clark County powerhouses year-in and year-out as of late. For Dobbs at Ridgefield, establishing a perennial program begins with gaining access to the middle schools. In a growing city with small roots, many of the volleyball players have family ties, Dobbs added.
“For us, we get into our middle school and we love to talk to the kids there, and a lot of them actually are siblings, so we have a lot of siblings that are in eighth grade that will be coming in next year to the high school, and then we have siblings on the court that are playing,” Dobbs said.
The Spudders tackled Skyview and Hudson’s Bay high schools to start the week, but results were unavailable at press time. They next host R.A. Long High School of Longview on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m.
The Hockinson Hawks next faced off against Woodland High School on Tuesday, Sept. 30, followed by a road game against Hudson’s Bay High School on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m.
