Kamiakin volleyball still in running for WA state tourney despite 1st loss

Kamiakin’s volleyball team just seems to reload every season nowadays.

Despite being hit with graduation losses last June, the Braves found a way to go unbeaten in not only Mid-Columbia Conference play (at 9-0), but overall too (18-0).

They took their first loss Thursday night against Gonzaga Prep in a bout for the district title.

Kamiakin has already qualified for next week’s Class 4A state tournament, set for Nov. 21-22 in the Yakima Valley SunDome.

Both teams have already qualified for the state tournament. The Braves have beaten Ferris 3-0, then edged Lewis & Clark 3-2, in the district tourney.

Mead will play LC for the district’s third state berth on Saturday.

Here are the final regular-season standings for the MCC: 1. Kamiakin (4A) 9-0 MCC, 16-0 overall

2. Richland (4A) 7-2, 11-5

3. Kennewick (3A) 6-3, 11-5

3. Hermiston (3A) 6-3, 10-7

5. Southridge (3A) 5-4, 11-5

5. Walla Walla (3A) 5-4, 8-9

7. Chiawana (4A) 4-5, 7-9

8. Hanford (4A) 2-7, 4-13

9. Pasco (4A) 1-8, 2-15

10. Sageview (3A) 0-9, 0-16

• Kennewick will be playing host to University at 12 p.m. this Saturday in a winner-to-3A-state, loser-out District 6 volleyball match.

The No. 2-seeded Lions are 2-1 in the tournament, beating Shadle Park 3-0 on Nov. 4 before losing 3-0 to Mt. Spokane on Nov. 8.

Kennewick stopped Hermiston 3-0 on Nov. 11 to set up Saturday’s match.

Mt. Spokane will play Ridgeline for the district title on Thursday night. Both teams have qualified for state.

NWAC soccer

Columbia Basin College’s men’s soccer team qualified for the NWAC playoffs early in November.

Now, the Hawks men have advanced all the way to the semifinals, and they will play Tacoma at 11 a.m., Friday, Nov. 14, at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila.

The other semifinal pits Spokane against Highline at 1:30 p.m.

The winners will meet at 1:30 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 16, at Starfire.

CBC, which finished second in the East Region standings, took down visiting Southwestern Oregon 4-1 in the regionals on Nov. 5. The Hawks then advanced to the quarterfinals, beating Peninsula 1-0 on Nov. 8.

The Hawks are 15-1-1 this season, and head coach Martin Ramirez has a lot of talent from up and down the Yakima Valley.

Sophomore David Ochoa (Sunnyside) has an astounding 20 goals this season, while Alex Martinez (Pasco) has 7 goals and 7 assists.

Alfredo Jimenez (Chiawana) lead CBC with 8 assists, while Jorge Perez (Grandview) has 7.

Caleb Coronel (Eisenhower-Yakima) is the leader of the goal-keeping corps, notching 23 saves over 13 contests.

Spokane features Connell grad Fernando Avalos, a freshman midfielder.

Mabton sophomore Angel Chavez plays for Tacoma.

Walla Walla also qualified for the tournament, but the Warriors lost 1-0 to Lane in the first round. WWCC has eight players from the Mid-Columbia region on its roster: Adrian Arangure (Chiawana grad), Alejandro Castellon (Walla Walla High School), Ethan Fajardo (Grandview), Rawand Hardy (Chiawana), Aaron Lowry (Chiawana), Carlos Madrigal (Hanford), Samuel Montes (Grandview) and Arturo Murguia (Riverside-Boardman).

• Head coach Alessandro Llamas led his Columbia Basin College women’s soccer team to a 12-3-2 record this fall, as the Hawks reached the NWAC quarterfinals before losing 2-0 to Peninsula.

CBC had a strong season, with Hailey Despres (Mountain Home, Idaho) and Zoey Forst (Mountain View-Boise) each scoring 9 goals for the Hawks.

Ida Hunt (Utah) added 6 goals for CBC, while Myah Giles (Chiawana) had 6 assists and Darby Adams (Blackfoot, Idaho) added 4.

Sam Groesbeck (Skyview-Vancouver) was the team’s top keeper, logging 1,142 minutes and making 37 saves.

Walla Walla Community College also made the playoffs, falling 1-0 to Umpqua in the first round.

The Warriors had plenty of regional talent on their roster: Payton Anderson, Richland; Bailey Bloxham, Southridge; Kenzie Christian, Richland; Abbi Gaudreault, Hanford; Tessa Halfmoon, Prosser; Soleil Hoefer, Prosser; Josie Jamieson, Chiawana; Emma Merrick, Prosser; Emi Pruneda, Othello; Naomi Redd, Richland; Jaden Ryan, Walla Walla High School; Morgan Santos, Southridge; Karen Villegas, Prosser; and Natalia Yanetsko, Grandview.

Two other area players were involved in the playoffs: sophomore Chloe Bond (Southridge) for Spokane; and freshman Danielle Horst (Chiawana) for Skagit Valley.

The final four is Friday, Nov. 14, at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila.

Highline will play Peninsula at 4 p.m., while Spokane takes on Tacoma at 6:30 p.m.

The winners will meet in the title game at 4:30 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 16.

Prep soccer

The Richland girls, who qualified as the third seed out of District 6 4A tournament, lost their state 4A tournament opener on Wednesday.

The Bombers, a 15 seed, fell at No. 2 Tahoma 3-1.

Wahluke, a 15 seed in the 1A state tournament, also was eliminated on Wednesday, falling 7-0 at No. 2 Seton Catholic.

Mabton’s boys soccer team is the No. 7 of eight seeds in the WIAA’s 1B/2B state tournament.

The Vikings will visit Mt. Vernon Christian at 2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 15, in one quarterfinal. The game will be held at Mt. Vernon High School.

The semifinals and finals will be held Nov. 21-22 at Mt. Tahoma High School.

Prep swimming

The state girls swimming at diving meet runs this Friday and Saturday in Federal Way.

The Mid-Columbia region will have 17 individuals and 11 relay teams competing in the multi-classification event.

Preliminaries are scheduled for Friday, while all finals are set for Saturday.

Here’s who is going to the state meet:

Dayton (1A/2A): Kylie Wheatley, sr., 200 free.

Hanford (4A): Elizabeth Liu, sr., 100 breaststroke; Esther Mei, jr., 100, fly, 200 individual medley; Relay team 200 free and 200 medley

Kamiakin (4A): Alaina Cathey, sr., 100 free, 200 individual medley; Joni Oberg, sr., 100 back.

Kennewick (3A): Relay team 400 free.

Prosser (1A/2A): Kenna Camp, so., 50 free, 100 fly; Madison Jobe, so., 100 back; Ebony Mireles, sr., 100 free, 200 free; Relay teams 200 free, 200 medley, and 400 free.

Richland (4A): Shyla Asmus, jr., 200 free, 500 free; Kirsten Olson, fr., 500 free; Brooke Posada, jr., 50 free, 100 back; Alice Williams, sr., 1-meter diving; Relay team 200 free, and 400 free.

Southridge (3A): Madison Meier, jr., 1-meter diving.

Walla Walla (3A): Izzy Kirtley, sr., 100 breaststroke; Violette Schinder, fr., 100 fly, 200 individual medley; Madelyn Smith, so., 50 free, 100 free; Olivia Thayne, so., 200 individual medley; Relay teams 200 free, 200 medley, and 400 free.

Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.

This story was originally published November 14, 2025 at 9:53 AM.