Ukiah/Long Creek Mountain Lion junior Lucchese Douglas serves the ball in Friday’s game against the Dayville/Monument Tigers in Dayville.

Three returning starters on the Ukiah/Long Creek Mountain Lion junior varsity volleyball team are leading the team this season.

Senior Brooke Harrison and juniors Jenny Kim and Dorotha Johnson are starting this year. Sophomore Isabella Orr also started some of the games last season.

Head coach Linda Studtmann, who has coached for six years, co-coaches with Reagan Enriquez. This is Enriquez’s 11th year with the team.

Studtmann said she’s impressed with the entire team.

“They work well together, want to help each other improve and encourage each other both in practices and games,” she said. “I’ve seen determination, desire to improve and leadership abilities, including stepping in to help teach the new athletes.”

The team includes one senior, eight juniors, three sophomores and no freshmen, but is “young” experience-wise, Studtmann said. For three foreign exchange students and three local girls, it’s their first time playing the sport, but they are picking up skills quickly, the coach said.

“They are trying hard and can be a very competitive opponent,” Studtmann said.

This is Harrison’s fourth year playing volleyball.

“This team is pretty great, and we’ve grown as a family,” she said. “I’m proud of them for working as a team, and I’m excited to see what they can become next year.”

The Mountain Lions lost a match to the Dayville/Monument Tigers 3-0 on Friday in Dayville, the Tigers winning 25-17, 25-14 and 25-16. They also lost a game to the Nixyaawii Golden Eagles junior varsity team the previous night, but the coach said they showed a lot of drive in that game, as they pushed Nixyaawii to 3-1, the Golden Eagles winning with scores of 24-25, 25-11, 25-20, and 26-24.

Ukiah/Long Creek swept Burnt River in their first game of the season on Aug. 29 with scores of 25-7, 25-17, and 25-9.

Studtmann said her goals for the team include improving their volleyball skills and ending the season better than they began.

“Of course, we would like to win some games, but more important is building character, responsibility and sportsmanship, both on and off the court,” she said.

For her returning players, she would like to see “more attacks, gaining confidence in their abilities to set up and the ball and spike it,” she said.

“We want to see the girls improve their serving skills, and be able to return those hard serves and spikes,” she added. “Working together and communication is important, and we’ve seen some good improvement in communication already.”

Ukiah/Long Creek will host Dayville/Monument at 5 p.m. Friday in Ukiah.

Ukiah/Long Creek volleyball schedule

Sept 27: vs. Dayville/Monument in Ukiah, 5 p.m.

Sept. 28: @ Crane JV, 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 4: @ Burnt River JV in Unity, 3 p.m.

Oct. 5: vs. Adrian JV in Dayville, noon

Oct. 11: vs. Condon JV in Long Creek, 1 p.m.

Oct. 19: vs. Harper in Long Creek, 1 p.m.