Bulldogs volleyball finish third in state

YAKIMA - The Colfax Bulldogs volleyball team used their strong end-of-season winning streak to peak at the state tournament in Yakima on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 8 and 9.

They won three-of-four in the tournament, and walked away with a third place trophy.

Coming into the tournament as the number three seed, the Bulldogs did their job, and won some hardware for their efforts.

The Bulldogs had two games on Wednesday, Nov. 8, where they won both.

They played their game Thursday, Nov. 9 in the early afternoon, losing to eventual state champion Manson Trojans.

After the loss, the Bulldogs took on Rainier in the third/fourth place state game, where Colfax won the match to capture third place in state. The Bulldogs finished second last season, and have not won the state championship since the 2017-18 season.

"It was a good couple of days for us," said Colfax head coach Megan Dorman.

This season, the Bulldogs handled their opening round match against the 14th seeded Walla Walla Valley Academy, winning in straight sets: 25-13, 25-16, 25-22.

Later that day, the Bulldogs squared off against number six-ranked Toutle Lake.

Again, the Bulldogs won the match in straight sets: 25-18, 25-21, 25-10.

Thursday, Nov. 9, the Bulldogs played their state semifinal match against the Manson Trojans.

After winning the first set, the Bulldogs failed to win another set, as they showed their struggles defensively, leading to the loss to the Trojans: 25-19, 16-25, 15-25, 11-25.

After the loss, Colfax moved to play for third place against Rainier.

The Bulldogs would fight for the match, winning the match in four sets to capture third place: 30-28, 25-23, 21-25, 25-23.

"We were able to bounce back after the tough loss to Manson and get Rainier for third," said Dorman.

In the tournament, Brynn McGaughy led the way with 50 kills and 19 blocks. Ava Swan added 44 kills, 26 digs, and 14 blocks.

Brenna Gilchrist defensively had 52 digs in the tournament.

Hailey Demler had 34 kills, five aces, and 66 digs, and setter Lauryn York added 138 assists and 36 digs in the tournament.

The Bulldogs will lose York, Demler, and Hope Fulfs for next season as they are set to graduate from high school in the summer, however, the Bulldogs will have Swan, Gilchrist, McGaughy and Gracie Bofto returning for a senior season in 2024, watch out for the Bulldogs in next seasons state tournament.

The Bulldogs finished their season winning 17 of their last 18 games.

Prior to the loss against Manson, the last loss for Colfax was Thursday, Sept. 19 against the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos.

The Broncos entered the state tournament as the number five overall seed, and made it to the state championship match. They were swept by Manson in the championship match.