Thunderbirds' Hitters Lead Highline to Sweep of Columbia Basin to End NWAC Quarterfinals

LAKEWOOD, Wash. - The Highline Thunderbirds volleyball team finished the quarterfinals with a sweep of Columbia Basin at the NWAC Volleyball Championship on Friday at Pierce College.

The Thunderbirds (25-7, 11-1 West) came out of the gates swinging and immediately jumped ahead of CBC 1-0 after a convincing 25-13 first set win. Highline led 10-2 early in the first set, but a big Hawks' run saw the Thunderbirds fall behind for the first time in the match. However, they rebounded late in the set and took it 25-20 before eventually capturing the sweep with a 25-22 win in set three.

Highline hitters were on their game in the night cap as the team hit .337 as a whole. Setter Madison Mamizuka was a big part of the offense as she dished 37 assists in just three sets, while adding 10 digs. Halle Garrity led the Thunderbirds with 12 kills. Aspen Olson had 10 kills with a .600 hitting percentage, while Sonya Fa'amalele had nine kills with no errors (.600 hitting percentage) and Chelsea Velez also had nine kills. Tru Onisuka solidified the defense with 14 digs.

The Hawks reached the Elite 8 despite entering the regional round as a No. 4 seed. Taking on a tough Highline squad, CBC was unable to get in a rhythm before it was too late. Caydence Taylor and Zuri Reeser each had 12 kills to pace the offense. Yajaira Meraz led the team with 23 assists while Reeser was also the leader in digs with 11.

The Thunderbirds move onto the NWAC semifinals and will take on undefeated, and two-time defending champions Linn-Benton in the second match on Saturday at 5 p.m. This will be a rematch of the 2022 quarterfinals in which Linn-Benton went onto win in three sets.

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