Bruins finish eighth in 1A state volleyball tourney

WHITE SALMON — The Columbia High School (CHS) volleyball players negotiated the pageantry — and, arguably, the pressure — that often accompany a first-time-ever state tournament qualifier by simply doing what they’ve done all season: perform to their capabilities and beyond.

The result was an eighth-place finish at the 2025 WIAA Class 1A state tourney Nov. 14-15 at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

Not bad for a newbie.

The Bruins (12-10) were bolstered by a senior core of players who parlayed a fifth-place Trico League finish into the school’s first state qualifying performance at district, and then a 2-2 record (and a trophy) at state. Coach Heidi Shultz barely had time to take a breath the day after her team’s historic run, as she was busy ushering in a new group of future Bruin netters at the first club team tryout of the winter. If her CHS team gets in the habit of making state tourney runs, then the long-time, unassuming coach may have to re-think the start of the club season — so she can get at least a few days off.

Either way, her 12-year-old club players now have the 2025 Bruin team to try and emulate. It won’t be easy. The CHS team had to bounce back from a first-round loss at state to third-seeded Cascade Christian, and then stay alive with two consolation wins to earn a spot in the trophy round. The first consolation victory, also on Nov. 14, was a 25-18, 25-21, 25-20 sweep of Lakeside. The Bruin performance was fueled by the additional energy boost of a school-sponsored rooter bus of fans who made it to Yakima in time for the loser out match.

 “Once we got to state, it wasn’t enough for that group of girls, seniors especially, to be content to be there. They upped their game even more. It’s amazing to see when your team is on a roll like that and everyone is playing at their highest level all the time and they’re excited. It’s that magical flow state,” Shultz said.

Consolation play can be a slippery slope, just ask Cascade Christian, which went home empty handed after losing in the quarterfinals to La Center, and then in its first consolation match to Cedar Park Christian.

On the other hand, Columbia found its groove after the 25-19, 25-18, 25-17 loss in its opener. Shultz and her assistants, Aly Lovrin and Tessa Wallace, kept the players focused on what could be rather than what had been. The Lakeside win pitted Columbia against Anne Wright in one consolation semifinal, where the Bruins responded by chomping the Gators, 25-19, 25-20, 25-20.

Senior co-captain Sara Miller set the pace, as she has the entire season along with fellow seniors Olivia Allen, Bella Hamilton, and Kiana Chambers (co-captain).

“[Sara] has this desire to come out and perform at a high level every night. [The seniors] set that example. This is the level and everyone else better rise up to meet that level,” Shultz said.

The game for seventh place against The Bear Creek School produced the only downer all weekend for Columbia. The Bruins failed on four match point opportunities, as Bear Creek battled back from a 14-10 deficit in the tiebreaker to win 16-14. Columbia won the first two sets, 25-21, 25-17, but the Bruins couldn’t put the Grizzlies away.

Bear Creek was on a redemption run of its own. It had lost in the first round to eventual champion — and now six-time-in-a-row champ — Chelan. (The Mountain Goats beat Meridian, 3-0, for the title.) Bear Creek endured in the seventh-place match by winning sets No. 3 and 4, 25-14, 25-21, and then the tiebreaker.

“We had them two games and they just came back,” Shultz said. “That last game we just needed one more point in that fifth game. So that was a bummer.

“Everything up to that point had been so great. The fan support, spending time after the games with all the people who came, the team bonding that the girls got to do — going out to dinner together. It’s all just such a special opportunity that the girls will take with them the rest of their lives.”

Good teams are a mixture of many parts. For Columbia, it started with the seniors, who each brought something different to the team, Shultz said. Among many things, Hamilton brought her athleticism and work ethic; Miller added her first-team all-league talent; Allen contributed her reliable play off the bench; and Chambers, her positive demeanor.

The juniors led by Joella Posini, Fiona Grabb, Lola Marti, and Julia Mullinix, along with sophomores Mckena Carlock and Liz Salguero, are now facing a new standard. As a reminder, as if they need one, will be the eighth-place trophy — the second ever in school volleyball history. It has a home at the high school along with the team’s first-ever trophy — for the Bruins’ third-place finish at district two weeks prior.

“The whole experience was such a highlight,” Shultz said, starting with the Nov. 13 sendoff festivities. It included a player parade in front of appreciative, poster holding grade schoolers; a pep rally with the band playing at the high school; the captain talks to the student body; and the team meals and bonding once in Yakima.”