For the second year in a row, the Tumwater volleyball team fell one game short of placing at the 2A State Volleyball Tournament, as the T-Birds lost to Ridgefield in a back-and-forth five-set thriller on Saturday morning at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
“It was a roller coaster,” Tumwater coach Molly Cichosz said. “We were right there … It was heartbreaking.”
The T-Birds, who had lost to Ridgefield in four in last week’s district semifinals, dropped the first set, but took the next two to take a 2-1 lead.
“We started using the things that worked the first time we played them,” Cichosz said. “That’s when it really took off.”
Ridgefield responded by taking the next two sets, and the Spudders won the fifth in extra points to advance to the fifth-place game.
“It’s heartbreaking, but the best case scenario if we had to lose,” Cichosz said. “I’m really proud of them, they never gave up and they played every point. They gave it their all … I’d much rather go out on a game like that.”
It’s the second straight season that the T-Birds earned the No. 7 seed, and they ended up taking the same path as last year’s team: Winning a Round of 16 match, falling in a quarterfinal to the No. 2 seed, then ending up on the wrong side of a close match before getting to a placement game.
No. 10 Chief Sealth, which Tumwater beat in the first round, went on to win three straight matches to finish seventh.
“We learned last year that being ranked seventh is a really difficult position to be in,” Cichosz said. “I think that’s a fair ranking. It sucks cause we don’t get the hardware, but in my heart and our minds we’re seventh. I wish we could have fought for fifth or sixth, but we gave it our all and I don’t think we have any regrets.”
The T-Birds finish their season 17-5 and will graduate just two seniors in Brooklyn Bonfield and McKayla Clary.
“Brooklyn grew so much this year,” Cichosz said. “She’s helped this team more than I ever imagined her helping this team, and she was a huge part of our success. She really went out with a bang.
“McKayla has been on varsity for three years,” Cichosz continued. “Each year, she just took on a role and did her best … Having that all around skill from her is gonna be hard to replace.”
