Broncos advance to state trophy game

YAKIMA - The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague/Washtucna/Harrington girls avenged a district loss to Liberty (Spangle) this morning, Friday, Nov. 11, by eliminating the Lancers from the state 2B volleyball tournament in the Yakima Valley SunDome.

The Broncos swept their league rival, 25-15, 25-17, 25-23.

"It's so exciting to be able to redeem ourselves after losing to them in the district tournament," Broncos Coach Cari Galbreath said. "But it's also awesome to have two teams here from the same district battling on the last day of state.

The win ended the season for the Lancers and propelled the Broncos into the trophy game for fifth-place later this morning.

They'll be taking on the No.5-ranked Adna Pirates, who lost to the Northeast 2B's top seed, No. 4-ranked Colfax, in the second round of the state tournament yesterday. As of this writing, Colfax was on the court in the state semifinal playing No. 1-ramked Kalama.

The Broncos this morning dominated the court, giving the Lancers little opportunity.

"We pretty much took care of the ball," Galbreath said. "When we do that, I feel like we're pretty much unstoppable."

Galbreath, who was named NE2B Coach of the Year, also credited the Lancers.

"Liberty is a great team, a good program," she said.

Looking ahead to the Adna matchup, Galbreath said her plan is to "keep rolling with our momentum, and our united attitude with what we're trying to accomplish here at state."

The Broncos take on the Pirates at 11:45 a.m. on Court 5 of the SunDome.