YAKIMA — Montesano won its first four matches before bowing out in the Class 1A semifinals of the SunDome Invitational on Sept. 16 at Yakima.

The Bulldogs won all six sets in pool play. They downed LaSalle, 25-21, 25-12, Stevenson, 25-11, 25-13, and Kittitas, 25-11, 25-19.

Seeded fourth in the championship bracket, Monte came from behind in the opening set to edge Kiona Benton, 26-24, 25-14, in the quarterfinals.

Lakeside of Nine Mile Falls topped the Bulldogs, 25-17, 25-16, in the semis.

“They were a better than we were today,” Monte coach Debbie Gibson said of Lakeside. “They attacked well and kept us scrambling on the defensive end.”

But Gibson, citing her entire team for fine play, was very pleased with her team’s showing against strong competition. The Bulldogs missed very few serves and were effective with their hitting.

“I thought it was a great day,” Gibson said. “It’s nice to come over here and play some (strong) competition. We know what we’ve got to work on now in order to come back here at the end of the season.”

The SunDome is the site of the state 1A tournament.

Hoquiam wound up in the consolation bracket of the tourney. Grizzly scores were not reported.

The Bulldogs travel to Class 2A Centralia on Sept. 20.

Bulldogs 3, Warriors 0

MONTESANO — Montesano made quick work of Rochester on Tuesday, Sept. 13, defeating the Warriors 3-0 (25-4, 25-11, 25-14) in a non-league match at Bo Griffith Gym.

The Bulldogs took control of the match early and missed just two serves on the night.

“We came out with quite a bit of energy and we took care of the ball on our side of the net,” Monte coach Debbie Gibson said.

The Bulldogs were led by 16 kills by Shayla Floch and 14 kills by Jordan Spradlin. Hannah Hatcher had 29 assists on the night as Floch and Hatcher both were perfect in service. Josie Talley had 10 digs and two aces for the Bulldogs.

Bulldogs 3, Rockets 1

CASTLE ROCK — A long bus ride may have made for a sluggish start, but Montesano came back to take three straights sets to defeat Castle Rock 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 27-25, 25-15) in a non-league volleyball match at Castle Rock on Monday, Sept. 12.

The Bulldogs (3-0) dropped the first seven points in the first set on their way to losing their first set this season. However, Monte battled back to win the next three sets and take the match.

“We didn’t pass very well right out of the gate, but once our passes started coming together, things happened for our offense,” Monte coach Debbie Gibson said. “We served the ball well and picked up our defense in game two and three and shut their hitters down with our blocking and took the wind out of their sails.”

The Bulldogs offense was led by Jordan Spradlin, who finished with 25 kills and seven solo blocks, and Shayla Floch, who had 19 kills. Hannah Hatcher finished with 31 assists for Monte in addition to being 20-for-21 serving. Monte’s Hannah Manley was 17-for-17 serving on the night.

Gibson cited Floch for her all-around play, especially her energy and play at the net. Floch finished with three solo blocks.

Montesano won the junior varsity match in three sets and also came out on top in three sets in the C-team match.