Young Colfax still owns state savvy
It has to be music to the ears of 1A coaches around the state to hear Colfax volleyball coach Sue Doering describe her team as “very young.”
Before they get too excited, she means age, not experience.
Colfax (22-6) returned eight players from last year’s state championship team, and the Bulldogs take a streak of 10 consecutive top-four finishes into the State 1A tournament, today and Saturday at the Yakima SunDome.
“We’re not just thinking about being there, we’re thinking about placing,” Doering said. “We’re not thinking about just placing, we’re thinking about whether we can get in the championship. Not many teams think that.”
Lauren Mellor, Colfax’s 5-foot-11 middle blocker, leads the Bulldogs’ offense, including a 25-kill, 12-block performance in a five-game loss to State 2A qualifier Pullman earlier in the season.
Senior libero Katie Burns has Colfax covered on defense. A pair of sophomore setters, Abby Bruya and Kinsey Doering, run the offense.
Colfax opens with River View and 6-0 middle blocker Brandy Sonderland before a potential quarterfinal meeting with NEA rival Freeman (17-12), which the Bulldogs can thank for a late-season improvement.
In the second league meeting between the two, Freeman swept Colfax 25-18, 25-11, 25-21.
“We set Lauren a lot (against Freeman) and they double-blocked her,” Doering said. “Lauren is a great hitter and she’s been doing well all season, but we needed to have other people step it up, and a couple of outside sophomores have stepped up big lately.”
Colfax is ranked third in the final state coaches poll, with top-ranked Liberty Bell and second-ranked La Conner both on the other side of the bracket. Freeman is ranked fifth and opens with a tough match in sixth-ranked Life Christian.
B
Davenport head coach Pete Schweiger had reason to be excited as he came into this season, as his Gorillas returned five starters from a state runner-up.
Some adversity was unexpected, in the form of a preseason car accident that kept his two seniors, Kaylee Semprimoznik and Darci Dehn, out until the league season. Now, Schweiger has Davenport right where he wants it entering this weekend’s State B tournament at Eastern Washington University.
“We played great at districts, if we can just continue that,” said Schweiger, who has taken the Gorillas to their 14th state tournament in 15 years. “I’ve been doing this 20 years, and I’ve had teams peak at the end of the year and some teams that don’t.”
Davenport won the top seed of District 7, the home of 21 of 28 State B champions, although the last two (Garfield-Palouse and Riverside Christian) were from elsewhere.
For their fifth state championship under Schweiger, the Gorillas will have to maintain their ability to have all six players on the floor chipping in on offense and defense.
“We do spread the ball out,” Schweiger said. “At district, that’s what we did. We had five people with seven to 12 kills. We’ve got a great setter in Mallory Mielke and five people that can hit the ball.”
Davenport, ranked first in the coaches poll, seems destined for a quarterfinal meeting with District 9 champion Pomeroy, which beat the Gorillas earlier in the season.
On the other half of the bracket, District 7 runner-up Curlew (17-2) opens with third-ranked Dayton, the second seed from District 9. Sprague-Harrington (22-4), third out of District 7, plays second-ranked Riverside Christian. Sprague-Harrington wouldn’t meet Curlew until a semifinal Saturday.
2A
Pullman (22-3), ranked second in the state with only one loss to a Washington team, drew a tough quarterfinal against third-ranked Lynden Christian at the State 2A tournament, also at the SunDome in Yakima.
Senior middle hitter Miranda Weitz leads the Greyhounds on offense with junior libero Katie Hinrichs sparking the team on defense.
Lakeside-Nine Mile (17-8) is on the other half of the bracket with a first-round match against unranked Foster before potentially meeting seventh-ranked Ridgefield in the quarterfinals. Top-ranked King’s would be a candidate for a semifinal matchup.