LONG CREEK – The Long Creek volleyball team benefited from staying local this season.

The Mountaineers went 0-11 in the High Desert League and 1-11 overall during the season, but still improved from the 2007 season.

Long Creek and Ukiah had a co-op team last year and went 0-10 on the season. This year the Mountaineers and the Mountain Lions both had stronger seasons. Ukiah went 2-9 in the HDL and 2-10 overall this year.

The two schools are more than 40 miles apart, which made practices and team unity difficult.

Long Creek’s sole win of the season came 3-1 against their former teammates Sept. 17. However, Ukiah answered with a 3-2 victory Oct. 18.

“Last season we were in a co-op, and this year we had eight girls representing Long Creek,” Long Creek athletic director Ryan Gander said. “They only won one match but they made quite a bit of growth by the end of the season. They were a much better team than they were at the early part of September.”

The Mountaineers will lose four of their eight players from the 2008 team. Jessica Drake will graduate, and three others are exchange students who will leave after this school year.

Gander said at least one eighth-grader is coming up from the middle school next season and he expects a few more high school girls to come out for the team. The returners, new players and incoming exchange students should help Long Creek continue to improve and strive to reclaim past success. The Mountaineers were the league champions in 2003.

“We are building and focusing the kids on the idea of winning and rebuilding,” Gander said. “We’re just working on getting the girls to believe in themselves and get back to that past level.”