YAKIMA – The confetti bathe meant championship season had arrived but once more for Columbia River volleyball.
However what has lately change into an annual ceremony of passage by no means felt extra unbelievable than Saturday on the Class 2A state event.
There was Columbia River, one level away from seeing its three-year state championship reign finish.
If any staff was worthy of dethroning the Rapids, it was this Ellensburg squad that had blitzed by the event with out dropping a set after coming into because the No. 1 seed.
And right here have been the Bulldogs, one level from their first state title since 1988, forward 24-23 within the fourth set of the championship match.
However that’s when Columbia River confirmed not simply the center of a champion, however the poise befitting the now four-time repeat queens of Class 2A volleyball. The Rapids rallied to win the fourth set 26-24.
Then senior captain Sydney Dreves, now a four-time state champion, and upstart sophomore Sophia Gourley took over. The pair mixed for seven kills and two aces because the Rapids gained the fifth-set tiebreaker 15-8.
Now Columbia River is in uncommon firm in state volleyball historical past. Solely Mead’s streak of 5 consecutive titles from 2003 by 2007 is longer amongst faculties Class 2A or bigger.
Dreves struggled by a number of mishits through the second and third units, which Ellensburg gained 25-23 and 25-13 after River gained the opener 25-19.
She flipped a swap within the fourth and fifth units.
“I really wanted to make River history,” Dreves stated. “A four-peat is not very common. I switched the mindset to ‘why not.’ Why not go out and hit as hard as I can. I’m never going to wear the Columbia River jersey again so there’s no need to have any regrets.”
Dreves earned her first three titles with older sister Lauren Dreves, who’s now enjoying as true freshman for Auburn.
“She called me before the game and I’m sure she’s calling me now,” Dreves stated of her older sister. “She just told me to go all out. Last year, that senior class really went out with a bang. She told me, go do it again. Go do your thing.”
Columbia River was on its heels after the third set, when the Rapids seemed out of sync. The huddle earlier than the fourth set was time to recalibrate.
“I’ve seen them battle and fight,” Rapids coach Breanne Smedley stated. “We reminded each other of that. We’ve been down worse than this before. We can come back from this. Of course that’s going through everyone’s mind, is this it? But they rose to the occasion and battled.”