YAKIMA — No. 5 seed Lind-Ritzville/Sprague’s run in the 2B State Volleyball Tournament came to an end in the 2B title game, matching up against a talented No. 2 Manson team and falling 3-0 in the state’s final game of the season.

LRS finished the season 20-3, taking home a second-place trophy.

“If you would have asked me in August, ‘Would you be playing for championship?’ I’m not sure I could have said that with confidence,” LRS coach Cari Galbreath said. “As our season started and the girls kept going, they just kept working and kept improving. That’s all I can ask for; growth continued through the season, and that’s what they did.”

The first set of the championship game opened with an ace by the Trojans, who started fast in the match. After the two squads were tied at six early in the set, Manson went on a 10-5 scoring run that forced a Bronco timeout, then ended the set on a 10-4 run to take a 1-0 lead with a 25-15 set win.

“Each one of (Manson’s) players, and I’m sure a lot of their players on the bench, they play a lot of volleyball,” Galbreath said. “They’re just smart, experienced volleyball players and good athletes on top of that.”

LRS scored first to begin the second set, though the Trojans stormed back to take a 13-7 lead through the first 20 rallies. The second frame again ended with a 25-15 score in favor of Manson, who went up 2-0 after ending the set with an ace.

“It’s challenging to play a team like that, that’s so smooth; they don’t have a lot of hiccups with their passing, setting and attacking,” Galbreath said. “We don’t see that a whole lot; Colfax was a great competitor for us, we had a couple good teams on our side. It’s hard to play a team like that when you don’t see them very often.”

After the Broncos cut into the Manson lead to make it 15-14 in the third set, the Trojans scored five of the next six points to go up 20-15. While the fans on Manson’s side of the Yakima Valley SunDome were cheering and momentum appeared to be on the Trojan bench, LRS scored five straight points to tie the set at 20.

“It just shows that we can get through hard times and we don’t give up,” LRS senior Megan Melcher said. “We fight every point, and our goal is to go point-by-point and get back in there.”

Manson returned to form down the stretch of the final set, winning 25-21 and capturing the 2B title.

“They’re fighters, and their character is what makes me feel privileged to coach them,” Galbreath said of the team’s attempted comeback.

Manson was one of the teams the Broncos played at the Lancer Invite on Oct. 14.

“We knew they were a great serving, passing, hitting team, we just had to come out stronger,” Melcher said. 

The Broncos opened the 2B tournament with wins over No. 12 Coupeville and No. 13 Liberty (Spangle), reaching the state semifinals and locking in a top-four placing in the state.

“(We were) so excited, and kind of cloud nine-ish,” Galbreath said. “We’re in the top four. We had some adversity set in with an injury, not sure if Addy Colbert was going to come back, and she got cleared to come back and come to state with us. That was great, and I think we learned that adaptation gives you some strength and builds each other.”

No. 9 seed Rainier upset top-seeded Adna 3-2 on Wednesday night, shifting the focus from the Pirates to the Mountaineers in the semifinals. After a 25-19 win in the first set, LRS kept its foot on the gas with 25-11 and 25-10 wins in the second and third sets to advance to the championship game.

“We did not have our eyes on Rainier, we totally thought we were going to play Adna if we got to the semifinals,” Galbreath said. “That first set we were trying to see what Rainier was going to bring us, and halfway through that first set they believed in each other, and they saw how great they are.”

The Broncos were given a No. 5 seed in the state tournament after beginning the regular season 13-0 before suffering losses to Davenport late in the regular season and Colfax in the Northeast 2B district championship game. 

“It gave us motivation knowing that we were in the top, but it made us work hard and want to go farther than what we were (seeded), we didn’t want to go backward,” Melcher said. “Our goal this year was to get to the semifinals.”

With a second-place finish at state, Galbreath said the Broncos can use the 2023 season as a building block for 2024; LRS will only lose two seniors from this year’s roster, Melcher and senior Carlie Loop.

“I just want them to remember this feeling and keep craving it,” Galbreath said. “I kind of hope they realize it hurts a little bit, so all until next year we’re working to come back.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com. For more local sports coverage, download the Columbia Basin Herald app, available for iOS and Android.

Box Scores

LRS vs Coupeville
CPV: 19-20-20 0
LRS: 25-25-25 3

LRS vs Liberty
LIB: 17-23-17 0
LRS: 25-25-25 3

LRS vs Rainier
RAN: 19-11-10 0
LRS: 25-25-25 3

LRS vs Manson
MAN: 25-25-25 3
LRS: 15-15-21 0

    Lind-Ritzville/Sprague sophomore Sage Galbreath, left, and junior Addy Colbert, right, go up for a block against Manson.
  

    Lind-Ritzville/Sprague senior Megan Melcher (11) tips the ball over the net in the 2B state championship game against Manson.
  

    Lind-Ritzville/Sprague junior Madisyn Cameron serves the ball against Manson.
  

    Bronco fans in the stands cheer in between sets at the 2B state championship between Lind-Ritzville/Sprague and Manson.