Colfax gets matchup with La Conner

Behind 21 kills, three blocks and a 22-of-23 performance at the service line, including eight aces from Kayla Johnson, Colfax was dominant in its first-round State 2B volleyball match against Pomeroy on Friday, winning 25-10, 25-10, 25-20 to advance to a quarterfinal today against La Conner at the Yakima SunDome.

With the sweep of Pomeroy, the Bulldogs have won 11 straight going into their upcoming match with La Conner, the team that won the previous two state titles before the Bulldogs took first in 2008.

On the other side of the bracket, Northwest Christian advanced to the quarters with a 25-20, 25-20, 25-13 win against Tekoa-Oaksdale. In Round 2 the Crusaders will play Christian Faith, which outlasted Mossyrock in five games.

State 1B: Three District 9 North teams and one from the Bi-County League make up the four semifinalists today in the State 1B tournament in Yakima.

St. John-Endicott, Colton and LaCrosse-Washtucna of District 9 North and Almira/Coulee-Hartline advanced through the opening two rounds.

SJE and Colton will meet for the fifth time this season, with SJE having won the first four meetings.

The SJE Eagles opened with a 25-15, 25-14, 25-11 victory over Crescent and followed with another sweep against Trout Lake/Glenwood, going on the attack with 17 aces and 29 kills. Kelly Van Lith finished with 21 kills in the two matches for the Eagles and added 20 digs in the sweep of TLG.

Colton toppled North Sound Christian 25-17, 25-21, 25-14 before going the distance with Wilson Creek in the quarterfinals. The Wildcats dropped Game 3 to go down 2-1, but rallied to win Game 4 25-22 and then cruised 15-3 in the final set.

In the other semifinal match, Almira/Coulee-Hartline will play LaCrosse-Washtucna after beating Klickitat 23-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-16, 15-12. L-W advanced by sweeping Lopez and Thorp in back-to-back matches.

State 1A: Freeman bounced back from its quarterfinals loss to Montesano on Thursday by dropping Cedar Park Christian in four games to advance to the fourth-place game against Castle Rock. But the run stopped there as the Scotties fell to Castle Rock 25-19, 25-23, 25-14 to finish seventh at the State 1A tournament in Yakima.

Also placing at state was Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls), which fell to Annie Wright 19-25, 10-25, 26-24, 25-13, 15-13 and placed eighth. Lakeside defeated Connell in three sets earlier in the day.