Columbia Bruins volleyball places at districts

WHITE SALMON — Battle-tested Columbia High, buoyed by a juggernaut of a Trico League season, rewrote school history by placing at district and qualifying for the 2025 WIAA Class 1A state volleyball tournament for the first time.

The Bruins won two of three District 4 tournament games this past week to earn the 1A’s No. 14 seed into the 16-team Nov. 14-15 state tourney. The Bruins will play their first match at state at 9 a.m. Nov. 14 against No. 3 seed Cascade Christian at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

“There’s no little plaques on the wall,” said Coach Heidi Shultz. “To get a little plaque on the wall you have to place in district and there are zero plaques on the wall for volleyball. It’s the only sport with zero plaques.”

Not anymore.

“It was a big deal to make some history,” Shultz added. “It’s been a long time coming for sure. I’m super happy for the girls; they’re very excited.”

The District 4 playoffs involved the Trico and Evergreen leagues, and this season, the top four teams from the Trico earned the four state tourney berths. Kalama (17-4) beat regular season Trico champion La Center (19-1) for the title, and Columbia (10-8) and Seton Catholic (14-5) tied for third place.

The state tourney berth was validation for four Columbia seniors: defensive specialist Olivia Allen, setter Bella Hamilton, and outside hitters Sara Miller and Kiana Chambers. They, and others, came out of the White Salmon club volleyball program — something Shultz started almost two decades ago.

The Bruins’ won their first district match 3-1 over Evergreen League champion Montesano (22-25, 25-21, 25-14, 25-14). Shultz said the win was key to the Bruins not having to play two Trico teams back-to-back to qualify for state.

The win did put Columbia in the second round against Trico foe Kalama, which ended up being a five-set thriller. The Bruins played the final three sets without Chambers, an all-around player, who suffered a calf injury. Shultz inserted sophomore defensive specialist Mckena Carlock into the rotation and shuffled Allen to the front row.

“It kind of rattles a team to have one of your main players go down,” Shultz said. “I gave the girls a little [big picture] speech, reminding them of the goal.”

Columbia rallied to win the fourth game and forced a tiebreaker, but a 6-1 Bruin deficit was enough of a cushion for Kalama, which hung on to win, 15-12.

Columbia stayed composed, with Shultz using Chambers sparingly in the match vs. Hoquiam — with a state tourney berth at stake. Columbia won the first two sets 25-18, 25-16. Then, the Bruins then mounted a comeback for the ages to take set No. 3, 27-25.

Hoquiam led 23-14 and appeared on its way to forcing a fourth set when Columbia caught fire. Julia Mullinix proceeded to serve a 10-0 Bruin run, interrupted by two Grizzly timeouts. It only ended when she hit a serve long.

“To watch that last [set], it was amazing,” Shultz said.

“You can’t fault her,” Shultz continued. “She made 10 in a row under extreme pressure. She did amazing, and the girls, for them to maintain their cool, their perseverance through climbing back into it. That just shows how much they wanted to win and go to state.”

Match point was a 38-touch affair started with a Carlock serve. (She had earned Columbia service with a spike for a 25-24 Bruin lead.) Thirty-four more touches took place before Carlock reacted quickly with a left-handed stab to keep a Hoquiam kill attempt in play. Athletic Joella Posini followed the ball, spinning 180 degrees before delivering an over-the-shoulder set toward the net. That’s where Fiona Grabb swept a windmill, left-handed shot, which landed in the middle of the open Grizzly court.

“The girls have a good attitude going right now and they’re playing really well together,” Shultz said. “The girls are excited and will be ready to play. Hopefully, Kiana will be ready to play, too.”

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