Volleyball

A check of the state volleyball writeups from last November and a look at a 2010 Colfax Bulldog volleyball program suggests the Colfax net squad could be loaded for this season. Many of the players who had a big part in last year’s campaign are back and improved.

However, Coach Sue Doering, starting her 24th season as Colfax head coach, encountered a pre-season setback over the summer when she learned Nicole Sheer, the team’s outside hitter as a freshman, was booked for shoulder surgey. Sheer will be out of the Colfax V-net lineup for the season and hopes to be ready to go for basketball season.

The Bulldogs still have a lot of talent back from the young team which booked that third-place finish in the state 2B finals at Yakima.

Four seniors who graduated off that 2010 team were Christa Nyholm, Magee Cochran, Shaina Simonson, and Brooke Webber.

Nyholm, team libero last year, and Simonson were selected for all- NE league honors. Cochran and Webber also booked strong seasons with solid work at the serve line.

The Bulldogs will have Amelie Bruya back at setter. Bruya earned all NE honors as a sophomore last year. Lauren Moore, a junor outside hitter last year, also was named to all league.

Coach Doering has four senior veterans back in Moore, Hannah Harazin, Misty Skelton and Becca Hardie.

Skelton is working to move into the libero job vacated by Nyholm

Harazin and Hardie are middle blockers.

Sidnety Huber, who was bumped out of the run last year with back problems, returns as a junior.

Other varsity players back as juniors in addition to Bruya and Huber are Rachel Robinson and Taylor Lange.

Taylor Larsen, who made big gains in the middle as a freahman, will be back as a sophomore.

The team has also picked up Deanna Aeschliman, a junior, who is out for her first high school net season after playing at the junior high level.

Colfax last year had nine sophomores and six freshmen on the jayvee roster, and some of those can be expected to advance to the varsity ranks. Cassie Vorderbrueggen and Bailey Mackliet, who both booked strong track seasions to close out their freshman year, are among top nominees to move up to the varsity this year.

Colfax last year landed in third place after they battled perennial state foe LaCronner in a five-game semi round. LaConner prevailed in the long match, but they were nailed by Reardan, the another NE contender at the state show.

That semi-final loss ended a string of 26 state tournament wins for the Bulldogs. That run included six straight titles with four of them in the A division.

Doering figures Reardan as defending champs will be tough again in the league race. The chiefs had just two seniors in the lineup for their title run last Novermber a Yakima.

Northwest Christian, also an NE qualifier, graduated just three seniors off of their team with league MVP Sarah Batterton, a 6-2 middlle hitter, expected to be back.

Shawna Kneale and Jill Solbrack return as assistant coaches.. Cory Whitmore, a Bronco grad now at WSU, is also assisting. .

Coflax again will start the season with their home jamboree Sept. 3.