Local girls advance to state

COLFAX - The path was simple for Lind-Ritzville/Sprague/Washtucna/Harrington on Thursday, Nov. 3. Win two games and you go to state. Lose once – and you're eliminated.

Win was exactly what the Broncos did – defeating the Northwest Christian (Colbert) Crusaders in three sets to advance to the consolation bracket final, then beating the Upper Columbia Academy Lions in four closely-contested sets to punch their ticket to state.

The final rounds of the Northeast 2B district tournament took place at Colfax High School.

Colfax won the tournament, followed by Liberty (Spangle) in second and Lind-Ritzville/Sprague in third on Thursday.

The first set of the day for Lind-Ritzville/Sprague was relatively easy – the Broncos opened with a 25-15 win over the Crusaders, who only had the lead on the very first point of the set.

Northwest Christian had the lead for the majority of the second set, but Lind-Ritzville/Sprague came back from being down 12-7 before tying the set at 18 each.

The Broncos scored seven straight points to take the set win at 25-18 and the momentum heading into the third set.

The third set was the most competitive of the match – with the Broncos fighting to advance and the Crusaders trying to hold on to their state tournament hopes.

Four ties were featured in the third set – with the last coming with both teams knotted at 13-13. The Broncos were able to keep the advantage by a hair – outscoring the Crusaders 12-10 for a 25-23 final and the match win.

Lind-Ritzville/Sprague recorded another 25-23 final in its first set against Upper Columbia Academy from Spangle to take a 1-0 advantage in the consolation bracket final. The first set was another come-from-behind effort for the Broncos – who were down against the Lions 21-15 before going on a 10-2 run.

In Set 2, neither team was able to get a 2-point advantage in the typical amount of points and the Broncos won 27-25 in a set that comprised 14 ties.

It was the Lions turn in Set 3 for the come-from-behind win, going on a 22-12 run after being down 5-3 early to force a fourth set against Lind-Ritzville/Sprague with a 25-17 set win.

Set 4 was another one that needed to be decided in extra points. The set was tied 7-7 early on but the Broncos were able to maintain a slim leading (never exceeding) five points up until the latter stages when Upper Columbia Academy tied the set at 22 each.

The final set was tied again at 24 each before Lind-Ritzville/Sprague was able to score the final 2 points and secure the 3-1 match win.

In addition to the state berth, the Broncos secured several All-League honors including Coach of the Year in Cari Galbreath, League Most Valuable Player in senior Taylor Galbreath, a 1st Team All-League selection in junior Megan Melcher, and two 2nd Team selections in freshmen Saige Galbreath and Zoe Galbreath.