Centralia College Volleyball Sophomores Make History
When the Class of 2026 arrived at Centralia College prior to last fall, there didn't appear to be much reason to buy into the volleyball program.
After all, the Trailblazers had just finished a miserable season the autumn prior, winning just two games in head coach Ceanna Michalek's debut season at the helm.
But the group had a collective feeling going into the 2024 campaign. It wasn't just improvement they could sense.
They believed history was on the way in Centralia.
Together, the Trailblazers turned the program around in miraculous fashion, going from two wins in 2023 to 18 in 2024 with a trip to the NWAC regionals.
In 2025, Centralia College improved again, finishing the regular season at 21-8 with at least a share of the NWAC West title for the first time in program history. The Trailblazers, who improved to 10-2 in league play, did so with a sweep of Pierce College on sophomore night Friday evening 25-12, 25-7, 25-13.
As they tallied the final point, the Trailblazers sophomores shared emotional hugs with one another and their coaches. They accomplished one goal in their final home match of the regular season with the share of the league title. But another more prevalent goal has been heavy on their minds since the first day they met for practice this season: a trip to Pasco for the NWAC Elite 8.
"It's huge. It's a first for CC volleyball, as far as we've been able to go back and look," Michalek said. "This group is making history. They trusted me and my vision when we didn't have much to sell. I credit where we're at right now to our sophomores. They came in and immediately bought into the team culture, and everything we've built the last two years has been them."
The returning sophomore class that fueled the program turnaround in their two years is led by Lyndzie Filla, Ava Shiflett, Cadence Gumanas, Madison Aguilar, Abcde Rogers, Paige Miller and Avery Starr. Fouaimalo Tuala and Georgiana Kalamafoni joined the program as transfers to round out the class.
On Friday night, the sophomores contributed 27 of the Trailblazers' 36 kills against the Raiders, with Miller and Rogers leading the way with nine apiece. Starr dished out 32 assists, and Shiflett tallied six aces to lead the team.
"We all came in knowing that the year before us was not the greatest, and we were determined to turn it around in a year. And we did that," Miller said of the sophomore core. "I'm so proud of the work that we've done and the work that we're continuing to do."
Starr knew after her first scrimmages with the squad that the team could do something special.
"It's just the competitiveness of our team. Our practices were super hard, and we pushed each other to be a lot better and make it fun," she said. "After our first scrimmages, we were beating a lot of teams. I knew we were gonna make a big change here. I'm proud of the difference we made because we went from the worst two years ago to the best."
Centralia College will know whether it will share the NWAC West title or own it outright by Wednesday. Currently, the Trailblazers are tied with Highline and Lower Columbia, who will both play on Wednesday while CC's regular season is complete.
If all three teams finish with a 10-2 league mark, looking at the head-to-head matchups between the three schools will do no good as they've all split with each other. Instead, Michalek said a tie-breaker rotation will be enforced. Each team is assigned a number one through seven, and the region rotates all of the college's positions each year. For the 2025-26 year, Highline is No. 1, Lower Columbia is No. 5, and CC sits at No. 6.
Therefore, if the tie is officially set on Wednesday, Centralia College would enter the playoffs as the third seed, with the tournament beginning Saturday, Nov. 15.
No matter the seeding and no matter the opponent, the Trailblazers are confident their run is only beginning.
"On day one, we had a goal-setting meeting in our classroom, and the Elite 8 was the big goal. I think it's really realistic," Starr said. "We just have to win two (in regionals), and if we stay as hot as we are, I think we'll be good."