YAKIMA – Sue Doering has come up with many pithy sayings in her lengthy, accomplished career as Colfax volleyball coach. She unveiled another Saturday night as the Bulldogs were in the throes of a gut-wrenching, five-game state championship match.
“I told them ‘You’ve got to have a cool head to win a hot game,’ ” she said with a smile after her squad toppled arch-rival LaConner, 20-25, 29-27, 20-25, 25-23, 15-12.
Even though the schools are located on opposite sides of the state, their rivalry has become a benchmark in Class 2B. But Colfax holds a 6-1 record against the Braves in state tournament play.
Suzanne Marble, LaConner’s coach, was inducted into the Volleyball Coaches Hall of Fame before the match. Afterward she looked up and said, “I’d give that all back for this,” while watching the Colfax players celebrate.
The title is the Bulldogs’ third straight and Doering’s 13th at the school. But it wasn’t easy.
Colfax received a huge contribution from 5-foot-6 senior Scout Cai off the bench. Cai has battled a fracture in her back all season and had to get clearance from her doctor before Doering would let her play. Even so, it took a tug on the coach’s leg early in the match to get her in.
But it made a difference. As the teams volleyed seemingly endlessly in the fifth game, Cai came up with several big plays when the Bulldogs needed them most.
“She was a huge story for us,” Doering said. “Without her, we probably don’t win.”
LaConner trailed early in the first game at 9-6 and 12-9 but pulled even at 13. From there, the Braves outscored Colfax 12-7 and cruised to a 25-20 win.
The Bulldogs controlled the early portion of the second game but the confident Braves closed a 12-5 deficit and tied the game at 19. After the teams battled back and forth for several minutes, a power shot at the net by Carmen Gfeller gave Colfax a 28-27 lead. The 6-foot sophomore followed that with an emphatic kill to tie the match.
Colfax fell behind quickly in the fourth game but rallied to tie the game at 20 and then took the lead at 23-21. A thundering kill by Abbie Miller and a net error by the Braves set the stage for a fifth game.
Also: Wilbur-Creston beat Reardan in the 7th-8th place match for Class 2B, 25-14, 25-17, 19-25, 25-16.
Reardan advanced by beating Wahkiakum, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 21-25, 15-13. Wilbur-Creston advanced by holding on to beat Brewster, 22-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-23, 15-10.
For Reardan, the trophy is the fourth since 2010. For Wilbur-Creston, it’s the sixth trophy in the last seven seasons.
