Colfax Bulldogs volleyball win districts

COLBERT – The Bronco girls were upset by Northeast 2B league rival Colfax, 3-0, in the district title game at Northwest Christian on Thursday, Oct. 26.

Set scores were 21-25, 21-25, 22-25.

The loss was only the second this season for the Bronco girls.

"It's been quite a season," Colfax Coach Megan Dorman said. "Because of injuries, we've had to make a lot of adjustments. The last week or so, things have started to click. This tournament has kind of been smooth sailing. The girls played well and served well. Tonight we got a lot of digs up and our blocking was spot on and our hitters were absolutely awesome."

The Bulldogs take the top District 6/7 seed into crossover play. Meanwhile, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague girls will also advance.

In the champion game Thursday in a tightly contested first set, the teams went back-and-forth.

Colfax opened a 21-17 lead, but the Broncos scored three straight points to close the gap to 21-20. Colfax outscored the Broncos 4-1 to win 25-21.

Behind the serving of Hannah Towne, Lind-Ritzville/Sprague scored six straight points to break an 11-11 tie in the second set to take a 17-11 lead.

The Bulldogs fought back, outscoring the Broncos, 14-4 down the stretch, to secure the 25-21 win.

In the last set of the match, the Broncos jumped out to a 15-12 lead.

Brenna Gilchrist served Colfax to 7 straight points before the Broncos responded with a 4-point run of its own to tie the game at 19.

Colfax scored 5 straight points and won the game 25-22 to sweep the match 3-0.

Saige Galbreath led the Broncos with 16 digs, 8 kills and 3 blocks. Teammate Zoe Galbreath had 11 assists and 8 kills.

Senior Bronco Megan Melcher had 2 aces.

For Colfax, Hailey Demler had 20 kills in the game and Lauryn York added 27 assists. Brenna Gilcrist had 17 digs and 3 aces.

In addition, Ava Swan and Hailey Demler each had 3 aces, and Swan had 3 blocks.

"We brought a lot of energy today," Colfax senior Hailey Demler said. "Every time we bring it, we play better. That's really what kept us going, even when the match was close."

Demler singled out Swan for her play.

"She had some good serves," Hailey Demler said. "She put the ball away when we needed it, and she got up on the blocks."

The Broncos will play the No. 4 team out of District 6.

That team will be the loser of the Lake Roosevelt versus Brewster game that was scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday night in Omak.

The newspaper went to press before game time.

Colfax, meanwhile, was set to play the No. 5 team from District 6. The Bulldogs were waiting at press time to see if that would be Tonasket or Liberty Bell.

Other Northeast 2B teams advancing to the crossovers are Liberty (Spangle) in No. 3, Northwest Christian (Colbert) in No. 4 and Jenkins (Chewelah) No. 5.

The five winners of the District 6/7 crossover games advances to the state tournament in the Yakima Valley SunDome.

The Class 2B state tournament is set for Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 8-9.