YAKIMA – Colfax volleyball coach Sue Doering routinely tells her younger players they should try and play like seniors.
Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.
On Friday in the SunDome Doering got a mixed bag in that area – bad early, better later – but Colfax won twice and advanced to the state 2B semifinals for the seventh straight year.
The Bulldogs opened pursuit of a third straight title with a 25-20, 25-23, 26-24 triumph over gritty and persistent Wahkiakum, the team the Bulldogs knocked off to win the 2014 title.
Doering wasn’t pleased with the tempo of the first game or her team’s response to it. “They were not a good match up for us and I think we had some first game jitters,” Doering said. “We did not control things at all.”
Colfax had an easier time with Napavine in the quarterfinals, winning 25-18, 25-15, 25-13. The veteran coach was happier with the performance in the second match.
“Morgan Lord was really good with her serving and Carmen (Gfeller) was strong at the net. Those two have a connection from all then work they did together in the summer.”
Colfax is in the semifinals — playing Toutle Lake today at 1 p.m. — for the seventh straight year. The Bulldogs have advanced to the title game each of those years.
Reardan, the team that interrupted Colfax’s title parade with titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012, battled 2013 runner-up Toutle Lake through five games before falling in the first round, 14-25, 27-25, 24-26, 25-20 and 7-15.
The Indians dispatched Waterville, 25-18, 23-25, 25-11, 25-18 to advance to the consolation semifinals. Reardan will play Wahkiakum at 9:30 this morning. A win would put the Indians in the 7th place game.
Wilbur-Creston’s first tournament as a Class 2B entrant resulted in a split and a chance for a trophy. The Wildcats were beaten by Life Christian, 25-18, 25-14, 25-20. The Wildcats rallied from two games down to topple Onalaska 21-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-13 in the consolation round. They will play Brewster this morning at 9 am. A win would give Wilbur-Creston a shot at seventh place.
1B
Oakesdale advanced to today’s semifinals by besting Naselle 25-12, 26-24, 25-10 and Sunnyside Christian 25-17, 25-23, 25-17.
The Nighthawks, who won the 2013 title while playing as Tekoa-Oakesdale, will play Christian Faith at 1 p.m. for a spot in the 7 p.m. title game.
Odessa-Harrington lost its opener to Christian Faith, 12-25, 15-25, 11-25. The Titans advanced in the consolation bracket by beating Thorp-Easton, 25-17, 22-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-6. They will play Neah Bay in the consolation round at 9 a.m.
1A
Lakeside, fresh off a district tournament upset of Freeman, struggled to get past King’s Way Christian, 19-25, 25-21, 25-23, 13-25, 15-13 in its opener.
While happy to see her young team advance, Lakeside coach Kara Moffatt was a little surprised they had to go the distance. She said she had to calm her squad going into the final game.
“I told them just to take a deep breath and play our game,” she said with a sigh. “We finally started playing defense.”
Moffatt singled out Outside Hitter Lexi Mikkelsen for her play at the net.
“She really stepped up and got the ball down when we needed it,” Moffatt said.
The Eagles were knocked into the consolation bracket by Cascade of Leavenworth, 18-25, 26-24, 21-25, 17-25, in a late quarterfinal match.
Lakeside will play Charles Wright Academy in a consolation semifinal at 11 am. A win would give the Eagles a chance for fifth place.
Freeman – considered a co-favorite with Lynden Christian – stumbled against top-ranked Kalama, dropping into the consolation bracket, 20-25, 25-17, 16-25, 19-25. The Scotties made short work of Granger in the consolation match, winning 25-21, 25-16, 25-21.
Freeman will play Montesano in the consolation semifinal at 11 am. A win would give the Scotties a chance at a 7th place trophy
