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SPOKANE -- Richland and Southridge, the top two volleyball teams in the CBBN all season, found their way to next week's 4A state tournament at Toyota Center.
But no one said the way through the Eastern Regional bracket would be easy.
The Bombers bounced back from a four-set semifinal loss to defending state champion Lewis & Clark to defeat University 23-25, 25-15, 25-14, 25-14 on Saturday at Mead High to earn their first-ever state berth.
"It's all still really surreal right now," said senior setter Krysta Olberding, wearing a toothy grin. "We're just all real excited. It feels good."
The Suns, meanwhile, shrugged off a sweep by eventual champion Mead in the semifinals to oust crosstown rival Kamiakin in five grueling sets at Mount Spokane -- 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 15-11 -- and earn only the program's second berth ever and first as a 4A school.
"I can't even express into words how I feel," said senior outside hitter Heather Worley, who played on the Suns' 2006 state team in the 3A tourney. "It's just amazing. We've been trying the last two years to get back, and we hadn't done it. This was my last chance, and I wanted it so bad. I'm still shaking."
The teams then met at Mead following the Panthers' 25-18, 25-16, 25-16 win over LC in the title match to decide the third and fourth seeds. Richland won 25-18, 25-16, 25-12, meaning the Bombers avoid being in the same half of the state bracket as the top-ranked Panthers.
The draw will be held today in Renton, with the state tournament running Thursday and Friday.
Southridge 3, Kamiakin 2
The Braves had wanted another shot at Southridge ever since seeing a 2-0 lead slip away in their regular-season meeting and having senior Kristi Beyer suffer a season-ending knee injury in the match.
Even after meeting in last week's district semifinals (the Suns won in four), this was the match Kamiakin sought in its bid for a third straight state berth.
And the Braves gave the CBBN regular-season champs all they could handle. They won the first set and opened a 6-4 lead in the second before Southridge settled down.
"They came out fighting with so much intensity," Worley said. "We struggled to match it. We had to fight to get back into the match."
And led by Worley, who matched her career-high 28 kills from the first Kamiakin match, the Suns came back. She had nine kills in the second set and eight in the third as the Suns took a 2-1 lead.
"I thought we were doing pretty well against her," said Kamiakin coach Mary Opitz. "But she'll just keep pounding at you."
The Braves came back in the fourth led by senior Demie Warner, the two-time state doubles champion who had five kills in the set.
But in the fifth, the Suns had a four-point spurt to open a 9-5 lead, and Kamiakin was left playing catch-up the rest of the way.
"It's just whoever gets that extra step in that fifth set," said Braves middle Kassy Larson, who had 13 kills and 10 blocks. "I'm sorry to not have made it to state, but we worked so hard. We did our job."
Suns coach John Lengphounpraseut praised the effort of his seniors -- Worley, Meagan Doyle (15 kills, 3 blocks) and Jamie Lyons (22 digs).
"In other years, we would have folded in a match like that," he said. "But this match showed the strength and leadership of our seniors. They stepped up big-time."
Opitz also was smiling after the match.
"That was our best overall performance of the year," she said. "I'm just really proud of my girls."
Richland 3, University 1
Olberding said the loss to LC "was a bit of a downer, because we weren't going to be first or second. But we had our team huddle, and we were like, 'Hey, guys, we're not out yet. I don't know why we're bummed, because we can still do this.' "
Still it took the Bombers a set to regroup in their winner-to-state match with the Titans, but they settled down in the second set and quickly took control against the GSL No. 3 seed.
"We were a little nervous," said junior Chelsey Bettinson, who had 20 kills and 17 digs in the match. "But we stayed strong. We just needed to play with more energy."
Richland 3, Southridge 0
The seeding match marked the third meeting between the teams this season, and Richland remained perfect against the Suns.
Take the result with a few grains of salt, though -- both teams subbed liberally, with Worley sitting out the final two sets and Suns setter Andrea Smith coming out midway through the second.
Only Bettinson and Olberding played most of the match for Richland, and Bettinson -- who verbally committed to WSU last week -- capped off an outstanding regional with 14 kills and two blocks.
"Every time I asked Chelsey if she was ready to come out, she'd tell me, 'No!' " said Richland coach Bob Raidl. "But this is really a relief. We've never gotten to state, and you always want your seniors to have that opportunity."
Charlene Manning added seven kills for Richland. Worley had six kills in her one set of action.
Lewis & Clark 3, Richland 1
It took the Bombers two sets to get going against the Tigers, and after roaring to a third-set win and rallying to tie the fourth set at 24 apiece, they couldn't close it out and fell 25-16, 25-19, 18-25, 26-24.
"We made mistakes at the wrong time," Raidl said. "We'd catch up, but couldn't get any separation, and it's hard to be perfect for that long."
Bettinson had 18 kills and 18 digs, and Alex Estes added 14 kills for Richland.
Mead 3, Southridge 0
After dropping the first set and falling behind quickly in the second, Lengphounpraseut emptied his bench to save his regulars for the winner-to-state match against Kamiakin.
"We were toe-to-toe with them to start the match," he said of the 25-17, 25-10, 25-12 defeat. "But then we let the pressure get to us."
Kamiakin 3, Wenatchee 0
The Braves avoided elimination by routing Wenatchee 25-18, 25-14, 25-18 -- their third win over the Panthers this season. Kamiakin opened an 18-5 lead in the first set and never trailed by more than two points in either of the final two.
Kailee Dunn had nine kills, and Tori Softich added eight kills and eight digs for Kamiakin.
