Broncos place sixth at state

YAKIMA – The Lind-Ritzville Broncos placed sixth at last week’s 2B State Volleyball Tournament at the Yakima Valley SunDome, beginning their run with a sweep of No. 6 Goldendale.

The Broncos entered the tournament as the No. 11 seed, knocking off two higher-seeded opponents on their journey to placing sixth.

“I think they proved to themselves that when you set goals, and you have the mentality to work and earn what you want, it can be done,” Head Coach Cari Galbreath said. “I think this team really set out to accomplish something at state and to compete and work together. They did that and they came out medaling, so that was really rewarding.”

Lind-Ritzville first took on Goldendale, who finished the regular season undefeated in league play. They finished the first game in sweeping fashion, winning 26-24, 25-21 and 25-21.

“That first set was pretty shaky, but we finally got it together and kept persevering,” Galbreath said. “They came out and got them, and it was very exciting. I didn’t know, which was probably a good thing at the time, that Goldendale was undefeated.”

Next up for the Broncos was No. 3 La Conner, who came into the tournament having won the previous three 2B state titles. The Braves came out and played a fast-paced game, sweeping Lind-Ritzville.

“I just feel like the pace of the game La Conner gave us was a lot faster than what we were used to seeing, so it took us a lot longer to adapt,” Galbreath said. “I wish we would have won that third set because once we got a little momentum and acclimated to the speed of the game, I hope we could have continued to do good things.”

La Conner went on to win its fourth-straight state title.

A rivalry saw its next chapter in the first round of the fifth/sixth place bracket, as the Broncos were able to sweep No. 7 Liberty (Spangle). In the fifth/sixth place game Lind-Ritzville fell to Adna, who also knocked the Broncos out of the 2021 tournament.

“We always get kind of amped up to play a rival team, and the girls just came out in the morning and took care of business,” Galbreath said. “We really played a clean, aggressive game, and it was fun to watch them do so well.”

Down 2 sets to none, Adna “woke up” and rallied to win 3-2, giving Lind-Ritzville a sixth-place finish at the 2B State Tournament.

“I do think Adna woke up a little bit there,” Galbreath said. “(They) put a little bit more pressure on our serve receive.”

Galbreath said that back-to-back state appearances are something the team can build off of for the future.

“Every year we can get to state, it just makes us feel like we belong there,” Galbreath said. “I think that it helps when we start the season. Every season we start, it’s like that’s where we want to end up.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.