Columbia volleyball beats Hood River Valley, Heritage to start the season

WHITE SALMON — The Columbia High School (CHS) volleyball program won two matches to start its 2026 season last week with a 3-0 road sweep over Hood River Valley (HRV) on Sept. 1 and a 3-0 road sweep over Heritage High School on Sept. 3.

The WIAA class 1A Bruins (2-0), led by first-year head coach Naomi Posini, got off to a hot start against the OSAA class 5A Eagles (0-1) and never let up against the larger school. Columbia won the first set 25-23, took the second set 25-19 and sealed the victory with a 25-19 win in the third and final set.

Serving was a strength for the Bruins, with a 60.3 point scoring percentage as a team and seven aces. Liz Salguero had 22 out of 24 serves with three aces and went on a seven-point run at the beginning of the second set.

Defensively, McKenna Carlock had a strong performance with nine digs. Genesis Orozco had seven digs and Joella Posini added 14 digs.

Liz Salguero and Julia Mullinix ran a successful 6-2 offense with 19 total assists on the night.

Mullinix added six assists through the rest of the game.

Against the WIAA class 3A Timberwolves, things started slower for the Bruins. After losing the first two sets, 24-26 and 17-25, the Bruins battled back for a comeback win against the 3A team with 25-23, 25-10 and 25-10 winning scores.

Serving again was a strength for the Bruins with a 54.8 point scoring percentage and 17 aces; five from McKenna Carlock and four each from Fiona Grabb, Joella Posini and Julia Mullinix.

This week, the Bruins travel to Evergreen High School to take on the Plainsmen on Sept. 8, before getting a week off. The Bruins will resume action Sept. 15 at home against the La Center High School Wildcats to start WIAA Class 1A Trico League play.