After spending the better part of a month beating up on each other, the CBBN's top volleyball teams can gauge themselves against the best from around the state this weekend at the annual Crossover Classic in Spokane.
Pool play opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday and continues at 8 a.m. Saturday.
The 64-team field suffered from a few last-minute cancellations -- Hanford being one of four teams to drop out earlier this week -- but otherwise it includes a trio of top-ranked teams (Mead in 4A, Bishop Blanchet in 3A and King's in 1A) and all four CBBN ranked teams.
Southridge, ranked No. 4 in the most recent coaches poll, is in a pool with Othello, Goldendale and Union. No. 5 Kamiakin has Ferris, Northwest Christian (Colbert) and Mount Spokane's JV, while No. 6 Richland has Lake City, Deer Park and Rogers (Spokane).
The Bombers caught a break with the last-minute shuffling of the first-round pools. They originally were slated to be in a pool with Mead and Pullman, ranked No. 7 in 2A.
"I don't know anything about the other teams in our new pool," said Bombers coach Bob Raidl. "Our job is to get better each day by challenging ourselves to play everyone tough every day."
The 16 pool winners move into Saturday's championship draw at Ferris High.
-- Tuesday's Kamiakin-Southridge match has much more than intracity bragging rights at stake.
Richland's sweep of Eisen-hower last Tuesday night in Yakima knocked the Cadets out of a four-way tie atop the CBBN and set up Tuesday's match as pivotal in deciding the No. 1 district seed.
The Suns, with their sweep of Hanford on Wednesday, are 10-1 and a half-game up on the Bombers and Braves (both 9-1) in the standings.
Assuming none are upset the rest of the way in league play, if Kamiakin wins Tuesday, it earns the No. 1 seed by virtue of its five-set win over Richland.
However, if Southridge wins, the Bombers have the inside track at the No. 1 seed because of their sweep of the Suns.
"Hopefully, we bring our 'A' game to Southridge," said Braves coach Mary Opitz, whose team is the defending league and district champion.
-- Meagan Doyle had 14 kills and nine blocks as Southridge defeated the Falcons 25-17, 26-24, 25-19 in Richland. ... Royal, ranked No. 7 in 1A, went undefeated through the first half of SCAC East play, capping their run with a five-set victory at Connell last week. The Knights last won a league title in 2004. ... Hermiston fell into a tie for fourth place in the IMC with its three-set loss to Pendleton on Tuesday.
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A few thoughts on girls soccer
A few thoughts on girls soccer
It's been a pretty good year for girls soccer in the Tri-Cities. Not only in high school, but at the club level, too.
For our purposes, I'll stick to high school soccer though.
In the CBBN 4A, Richland, as expected, is in the mix for another league championship. What wasn't expected was that Moses Lake would be right there with them. The Chiefs have put up some truly impressive wins. One week after being Chiawana on the road, they beat the Bombers in a shootout at home.
Southridge soccer improves to 18-0
Southridge soccer improves to 18-0
KENNEWICK -- Both teams were already locked into the 3A state tournament when Kamiakin and Southridge met Saturday for the regional title at Southridge High School.
Even though both teams had little to lose, however, both sides played like their playoff lives depended on it.
In the end, the Suns pulled out a 3-1 shootout win after a 1-1 tie in regulation, giving Southridge its first regional championship. It was a typical Suns-Braves battle, meaning nothing came easy for either team.
CBBN 4A may need to sort out 3-way tie
CBBN 4A may need to sort out 3-way tie
No CBBN 4A coach -- not Mike Neidhold of Richland, not Rick Clark of Davis or Scott Devereaux of Wenatchee -- can say for sure whether there will be a three-team tiebreaker for the final crossover playoff spot next Friday.
Richland must beat Moses Lake tonight (7:30 p.m., Fran Rish Stadium), and Chiawana must defeat Wenatchee (7:30 p.m., Edgar Brown Stadium) to force a three-way tie at 3-3 among the Bombers, Pirates and Panthers.
However, the coaches will concede this: Each team put itself in this position by not taking care of business.
Preview: Final 4 ultimate goal for Mid-Columbia girls soccer
Preview: Final 4 ultimate goal for Mid-Columbia girls soccer
Seven Mid-Columbia teams reached the 2010 girls state soccer tournament -- Chiawana (4A), Southridge and Hanford (3A), Othello and Prosser (2A), Kiona-Benton (1A) and Warden (2B).
Many of the same players have taken their place on the pitch in 2011. That could tell you one of two things: 1) The players who went to state want to return, and 2) the players who didn't will be even more eager to go.
Either way, area soccer fans are in for an exciting season.
Volleyball notes: Fraga shines at running Southridge's offense
Volleyball notes: Fraga shines at running Southridge's offense
KENNEWICK -- While many coaches may have been fearful about having a sophomore be the floor general, Southridge's John Lengphounpraseut had no such fear.
Lengphounpraseut tabbed sophomore Kylie Fraga as the setter for this year's Suns team and the move has paid off, as Southridge has won three of its last four matches heading into a big week of contests.
"Andrea Smith started as a freshman at setter, so I got used to that a little bit," said Lengphounpraseut of Smith, who graduated this spring. "Kylie is coming into her own, as far as what she's willing to do. She had a tough time chasing the ball at the beginning of the season, because our passing was as good.
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