Braff Set Program In Motion

The precocious sprite approached Missy Bennett six years ago and said she wanted to play volleyball.

“That’s sweet, little girl,” said Bennett, who didn’t know the schoolgirl with the 4-foot stature. “You can play when you get to seventh grade.”

“No,” answered Lindsey Braff, “I want to play now.”

Bennett, the varsity coach at Colville, cut a deal to shoo away the demanding kid. There is no USVBA team for your age group in Colville, she told Braff. Get together eight to 10 kids and I’ll coach your U12 team.

And that would be the end of it, Bennett figured.

Then Braff showed up with seven other kids and announced it was time to keep the promise.

“I recruited a lot of kids from my swim team,” said Braff, now a senior and the starting setter for Great Northern League co-champion Colville. “I figured they’d be some of the best athletes.”

Four of the eight players who inaugurated U12 volleyball are on Colville’s 1998 varsity roster: Braff, senior Kaali McGregor, and juniors Ellen Shaw and Lindsey Terry.

They were a motley group when they began, arriving at tournaments with what Braff describes as “dorky” outfits. Their first goal was to serve one ball over the net. Their first successful bump-set-spike elicited a major celebration.

Now there are enough U12 players in Colville for two 12-girl teams.

Braff hadn’t considered her influence on Colville volleyball until Bennett, speaking at a volleyball banquet, told the story of the persuasive pixie.

“I don’t think my parents missed any of those U12 matches,” Braff said. “They were so dedicated.”

Three of the six GNL teams at Saturday’s District 7 2A tourney at University High will advance to the State 2A Tournament in Yakima.

Colville and Newport, GNL cochamps, have opening-round byes. Loser-out openers are Pullman vs. Chewelah and Lakeside vs. Deer Park. The championship match is set for 6:30 p.m.

Region IV 3A

League champions East Valley of the Frontier and Ellensburg of the Mid-Valley need one win during Saturday’s tourney at EV to qualify for state.

Three of the six teams at region will advance to the state tourney at St. Martin’s College in Lacey.

Competition begins at 10 a.m. with loser-out matches between West Valley (Yakima) and Cheney, and Hanford and Selah. EV and Ellensburg jump in at 11:30 against opening-round winners. The championship match is set for 1 p.m.

District 7 1A

Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. openers at Mead High are Northeast A champion Colfax vs. Kettle Falls and Freeman vs. Reardan.

First-round winners play for one berth to the State 1A Tournament at Chelan. The championship-match loser and consolation-match winner meet for the other state berth.

District 7 B

Eight teams, four each from the BiCounty and Panorama leagues, get a jump on other tourneys with eight matches tonight at Cheney High.

Three teams will advance to the State B Tournament at Eastern Washington University. Two of the three will be decided tonight, the other on Saturday.

District 9 B

Two of the four teams at Saturday’s tourney in Pullman will qualify for state. The championship match is set for 1 p.m.