Two years removed from winning the Class 4A state championship and a year after finishing third at state, and with the cast of players turned over, the Wenatchee volleyball team finds itself … right back where it usually is.

That’s what happens when a high school team becomes a district-wide movement.

CLASS 4A AND 3A STATE VOLLEYBALL SNAPSHOT

“We work really hard with our youth program and with our middle school program,” Panthers coach Jordan McGregor said. “They’re ready for Panther volleyball when they get here.”

Wenatchee won its fifth straight district championship and swept through the CBBN unbeaten for a third consecutive season. The Panthers has qualified for the last six state tournaments.

Senior middle hitter Rylee Jones was the co-Player of the Year in the Big Nine, and outside hitter Claire Demirjian and setter Jurney Jelsing were first-team all-conference.

Seeded fourth, Wenatchee opens state play against No. 13 Kamiak at 11:45 Friday morning in the Yakima Valley SunDome.

The Panthers sit behind a trio of teams all who could’ve made a strong argument to be the No. 1 seed.

Defending champion Curtis is the top seed after making it through the rugged SPSL with just one loss and is 22-2 overall.

One of those losses is to another group of Vikings – Lake Stevens. Lake Stevens swept Curtis in a late-September match, was 12-0 in the Wesco and is seeded No. 2.

Lake Stevens, which features reigning state Player of the Year and Oregon commit Laura Eichert, dropped a three-set match to third-seeded Gonzaga Prep early in the season at the SunDome Volleyball Festival.

The Bullpups feature the state’s top junior in outside hitter Mara Sandberg, who already has committed to Tennessee.

“I’ve been saying that the top five or six teams (can win the championship),” McGregor said.

Wenatchee for the second straight year will be joined in the 4A field by Big Nine rival Davis. The 

Pirates are making back-to-back trips to state for the first time in nearly 40 years after earning its first berth since 1997 last fall.

Of course, that didn’t curry favor with the bracket gods. Davis is seeded 15th seed and will open Friday morning at  9:45 against Lake Stevens.

“I feel for them,” McGregor said. “They’re a team that has surprised teams, they’re super scrappy and can compete with anyone.”

Pirates coach Steve Standley has turned the program around in his four years, helped by a junior class that last March won the state basketball championship.

At last year’s volleyball tournament, Davis gave Curtis all it could handle, falling in four sets but only being outscored by two points in the match. Friday’s opener won’t make the Pirates cower.

“It’s going to be a tough match but we gave a good fight to Curtis,” Standley said. “We shouldn’t have the jitters from state, it’s not going to be a wow factor.”

Three fixtures of the basketball team – Cheyenne Hull, Isa Garcia and Paige Gasseling – along with Joslyn Standley were second-team all-CBBN.

“We have a lot of weapons and we’ve been playing some great team volleyball,” Standley said. “We don’t just don’t win in three, we’re used to battling.”