Columbia Bruins lose volleyball matches to Seton, La Center

WHITE SALMON — The Columbia High School Bruins volleyball team faced a tough stretch last week, losing 3-1 to Seton Catholic on Oct. 7 and 3-1 to undefeated La Center on Oct. 9.

“We got aced 15 times, and that’s the difference in the game right there,” Bruin Coach Heidi Shultz said after the Seton Catholic game. “We’ll keep working. We’ll go back and we’ll work on that, and hopefully we’ll have better results.”

Seton Catholic (7-2) came out firing, racing to an 11-3 lead and never letting Columbia (3-6) find a rhythm in a 25-7 first-set win. The Bruins regrouped in the second set, battling back from a 15-11 deficit to tie it at 19. They pushed Seton Catholic to the brink at 24-23, but a late Bruin error sealed the set for the Cougars, 25-23.

Columbia showed grit in the third. After trading points to 19-19, Seton Catholic strung together a quick run before Columbia rallied again, eventually pulling out a 26-24 win on a Cougar misfire. That momentum didn’t last, as Seton Catholic controlled the fourth set. Despite a few late pushes, Columbia couldn’t close the gap, and the Cougars secured the match with a 25-17 win.

Two days later, the Bruins traveled to La Center, where the Wildcats would take care of business, 3-1. The Bruins were able to win the second set, 26-24, but La Center took sets one, three and four by scores of 25-15, 25-16 and 25-20, respectively.

“LaCenter is a good team,” Shultz said. “They are now 8-0 in league and ranked third in state. We played them really tough … Overall, we played really well.”

Sara Miller had 16 kills and 11 digs; Bella Hamilton had four kills, 32 assists and five aces; Fiona Grabb had six kills, and Shultz said Kiana Chambers led the Bruins’ defensive effort.