CC takes two of three in Blazer Classic

The Centralia College women's volleyball team opened the season with an impressive showing at the annual Blazer Classic, taking two out of three matchups across Friday and Saturday.

The Trailblazers swept Clark 26-24, 25-13, 25-22 on Friday before sweeping Blue Mountain early Saturday afternoon 25-15, 25-12, 25-21.

They won the first set against South Puget Sound later Saturday afternoon, but dropped the next three sets to lose in four.

Reigning NWAC West MVP Paige Miller led the way offensively with 44 kills across the three games, while reigning first-team All-NWAC setter Avery Starr tallied 114 assists, 15 digs, and four aces. 

Cadence Gumanas, another returner and a second-team all-conference honoree last fall, tallied 31 digs, 22 kills, and five aces.

A few freshmen also impressed, as Meleseini Hutchings collected 32 kills and 25 digs, and Jada Whitmore logged 28 kills and seven blocks.

"It's fun to have that dynamic of our veterans and their experience mixing with our freshmen and their skills coming out of high school," CC coach Ceanna Michalek said. "We were really able to mess with our lineups and tweak things to try and find our groove."

The Trailblazers are looking for another strong year under Michalek's leadership. In her first year in 2023, they won just two games, but last fall, they won 18 games and made it to the NWAC Tournament.

After the impressive showing this first weekend, Michalek said she is "really excited to see what we can do."

The Trailblazers (2-1) will hit the road for the first time this season on Wednesday, when they'll head north to face Olympic College. They'll then head to Des Moines for the Highline College Tournament on Friday and Saturday.