After the Class 2B and 1B state volleyball tournaments wrap up Thursday night, the 2A and The Chelan Invitational will take over the Yakima Valley SunDome floor Friday and Saturday.

OK, it’s still the 1A tournament, but the top-seeded and unbeaten Goats have made the SunDome a home away from home, winning the last five tournaments with the only interruption being the cancellation of the 2020 event because of the pandemic.

How dominant has Chelan been? The Goats have dropped just seven sets during the streak, and swept through their four matches a year.

That’s why what fifth-seeded Cashmere did last week offered a glimmer of hope for the 15 other teams in the tournament field this weekend.

The Bulldogs took a set off Chelan in the district championship before the Goats won 25-23, 23-25, 25-18, 25-19.

“We do have the benefit of seeing Chelan a couple times before the tournament starts,” said Cashmere coach Katie Broadbent, who last fall guided the Bulldogs to their first state berth since the late 1990s, where they nabbed the program’s first trophy (fifth).

After that fifth-place finish with no seniors, they set their sights high for this fall, and won the SunDome Volleyball Festival and went 16-0 in SCAC play for the second straight year.

“We’re feeling pretty confident being there last year,” Broadbent said. “We are not just looking for a trophy.”

2A AND 1A SNAPSHOT

Two-time SCAC player of the year Macie Smart leads the junior-heavy Cashmere squad.

Cedar Park Christian, third a year ago, and 2024 runner-up Cascade Christian are seeded No. 2 and 3 and on the opposite side of the bracket.

The 2A tournament has had its own dominant team of late with Columbia River winning the past four championships.

The Rapids are seeded second this time around, and could have a rematch of the 2024 final with Ellensburg in the semifinals.

Both programs continue to shrug off the churn of graduation remain contenders.

“Some of them were backing up last year and some were in different roles,” Ellensburg coach Jesse Steuckle said. “This is an extension of the hard work and their flexibility.”

While a final rematch could happen, the Bulldogs are focused on the first-round match against Orting.

“Our approach is to win Day 1,” said Steuckle, the CWAC co-coach of the year after sweeping through the conference ans winning the district title. “We are looking at our 10:45 opponent, and then a night match.”

After missing the tournament a year ago, Lynden is No. 1 and unbeaten. The Lions feature Washington-bound standout Rian Stephan and Finley Parcher, who was the MVP of last winter’s 2A state basketball tournament in which Lynden repeated.

Selah, which pushed Ellensburg in a five-set thriller in the regular season, is seeded seventh.