The Dalles returns to final eight in 4A volleyball

THE GORGE — Fourth-ranked The Dalles added a state tourney berth to its 2026 volleyball resume - to go along with the Tri-Valley Conference championship it earned two weeks ago.

Host The Dalles beat visiting Marshfield in three sets in a play-in match Oct. 31 to qualify for the eight-team state tournament Nov. 6-7 on the Oregon Coast. The Riverhawks (19-4) will play their first match at 11 a.m. Nov. 6 at North Bend High School against fifth-ranked Cascade Christian (18-5).

The Dalles reached the state tourney for the fifth consecutive year. Last year, the Riverhawks reached the finals for the first time in 37 years. The Dalles beat Marshfield (9-10) 25-18, 25-19, 25-20 on its home floor in the playoff match.

In this week’s state tourney, the Riverhawks will have a rematch with Cascade Christian, which beat The Dalles in a tournament earlier this fall in Turner.

Dufur, Sherman advance to final eight

Big Sky League champion Dufur and runner-up Sherman County each won Class 1A state playoff volleyball matches Oct. 31 to advance to the Nov. 6-7, eight-team state tournament in La Grande.

The second-ranked Rangers (21-3) will play their first state tourney match Nov. 6 at 3 p.m. at Eastern Oregon University against Echo. Dufur won its playoff match at home over fellow Big Sky opponent, Ione/Arlington, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22. Ione/Arlington finished third in the Big Sky district tourney after losing to Dufur in the semifinals.

Dufur last qualified for the 1A state tourney in 2014, when the Rangers finished second to Country Christian.

Third-ranked Sherman has had a longer state tourney drought. They last qualified for the final eight team bracket in 2005 as a Class 2A school. Last weekend, Sherman beat Prairie City, 25-18, 26-24, 25-22 in the state playoffs in Moro. The Huskies (21-3) will play their first match at the state tourney at 1 p.m. against Joseph.

Senior all-leaguer Kiara Peters closed out the second set against Prairie City with the final two kill shots for Sherman. The Huskies trailed 12-8 in the deciding set when Coach Kayci Sharp called a timeout, but it didn’t slow the Panthers. She tried again, trailing 19-13, and her team responded by scoring six of the next seven points leading to a Prairie City timeout. It was 22-21 Prairie City before Claire Cranston scored the final three points for Sherman.

Coach Crystal Pechanec’s Dufur squad relied on its senior middle hitters to put away Ione/Arlington. After winning the first two sets, the visitors took advantage of Big Sky player of the year Cadence Young being rotated into the back row and took a 17-14 lead in the third set.

All-league senior Hailee Pechanec delivered three points during a 4-1 Ranger run to tie the set at 18-18. It was 20-20 when Young had gotten back to the front row and powered three successive kill shots for Dufur. Ainslee Eisland’s quick set was perfect and Young put it away to set up match point. Young took care of that point, too — off another Eisland set — and the Rangers were moving on to the state tourney.

Columbia wins playoff

The Columbia High Bruin volleyball team swept Rochester (4-14) in an Oct. 29 play-in match into the eight-team 2026 District 4-1A playoffs. Columbia (10-9 overall, 6-8 Trico League) finished fifth in the league standings to earn a spot in the play-in match against Rochester, the fourth-place team from the Evergreen Conference.

The Bruins swept Stevenson in the final regular season match for both teams Oct. 27, giving Columbia a two-match win streak heading into its first-round playoff game Nov. 4 against the WIAA’s No. 2-ranked 1A team, La Center. That match will be at 5:30 p.m. at King’s Way Christian in Vancouver. The top four teams from District 4 qualify for the 2026 WIAA state tournament, Nov. 13-14 in Yakima.