The Cashmere volleyball team returns to Yakima on Friday, looking to defend its SunDome Festival small-school in what could be the first of two big weeks for the Bulldogs under the concrete roof.

Third-place at the Class 1A state tournament last November and led by a senior class that has turned the program from conference also-ran to championship contender, Cashmere is ready to test itself in the 32-team tournament.

“We’re excited to get back to the SunDome,” said Katie Broadbent, entering her sixth season as the Bulldogs. “It’s a good environment and we’ll see tough opponents.”

Cashmere will be joined Friday by Meridian, the 1A state runner-up, 2B champion Northwest Christian, and Manson, winner of the 2025 and 2024 2B state tournaments also are part of the field.

Five SCAC teams are in the tournament, with College Place, Naches Valley, Wapato and Zillah joining the Bulldogs.

In the big-school tournament Saturday, defending Class 2A champion Lynden and reigning classification Player of the Year Finley Parcher, who also has led the Lions to three straight basketball titles in the Dome, are among the headliners.

Ellensburg, the 2A runner-up, also is in the field, and will be joined CWAC rivals Prosser and Selah.

CBBN champion Wenatchee will be joined by conference rivals Davis, Eastmont, Eisenhower, Sunnyside and West Valley.

The Mid-Columbia Conference also will have a large contingent with defending league champ Kamiakin joined by Hermiston, Richland, Sageview, Southridge and Walla Walla.

State semifinalist and fourth-place finishers Gonzaga Prep (4A) and Sehome (2A) also are part of the big-school tournament. The Bullpups won the Festival last year.

Pool play begins at 8 a.m. each day, with bracket play beginning at 2:45.

A repeat would be big for Cashmere, but maybe not as big as what the Bulldogs might be in line for two months from now when the 1A state tournament returns to the SunDome.

Although Cashmere was third in the tournament, it’s hard to argue that the Bulldogs weren’t the second-best team in the 1A field.

They pushed six-time defending state champion and former Caribou Trail League rival Chelan to five sets, after having taken the Goats to a fourth set earlier in the season.

Only 2A runner-up Ellensburg pushed Chelan to five.

But that wasn’t cause for celebration, at least for Cashmere.

“Quite honestly we have a huge respect for Chelan, but they are our bar and there was a little bit of disappointment,” Broadbent said.

The Goats undoubtedly will be formidable again, even after 1A Player of the Year Brynn Hughbanks and fellow all-state second-teamer Marley Williams graduated.

But the Bulldogs have a senior class that has been together since middle school, and made the team a program.

“It’s a very special class,” Broadbent said of the team’s six seniors. “They just created a culture and chemistry of mutual respect everybody has followed.”

Western Washington-bound hitter Macie Smart has won Player of the Year the last two seasons, including as sophomore for SCAC newbie Cashmere.

“Her passion for volleyball is incredible,” Broadbent said. “They kind of took her lead and now they’re following their own paths.”

Fellow hitter Taylor Kunz and setter Cali Diaz also were first-team selections, and second-team libero Mandy Barba is headed to Seattle Pacific, where she’ll be a Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival to Smart.

Unbeaten in conference play the past two seasons, the Bulldogs are 3-0 in SCAC play heading into the SunDome.

They've also spurred an excitement for the sport in Cashmere, which is full of tradition-rich programs.

“Volleyball has caught fire,” Broadbent said. “It’s pretty exciting.”