Lauren Katyryniuk (10) is all smiles as fellow senior Bella Colombo, right, prepares to set the ball during the WIAA 1B state tournament in Yakima Thursday. The Comets defeated Moses Lake Christian in three sets to begin their challenge for a trophy.

Time out.

The players stopped. The gray-haired sports fan watching her great-granddaughter shifted into action.

As Brynn Tarabochia slid into the huddle with her volleyball coaches, Dorothy Hill rose from her front-row stadium seat in Yakima’s SunDome.

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Clad in the season-worn yellow T-shirt announcing her “superfan” status, the 83-year-old turned toward the colorfully festooned Naselle crowd and conducted her chorus, fortissimo.

“Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar …!”

They stood.

They hollered.

They hollered some more.

Two games later, Comet power propelled 16 united girls to a third-place trophy at the WIAA state tournament.

For the record, Naselle won its first two games, lost to returning 1B champions Oakesdale, then polished off Mary Walker School of Springvale in five uneasy sets, a path eerily similar to last year when they placed fifth.

Embrace

After the formal team photo was snapped, tears streamed down the face of Delaney Kragerud as she faced the faithful. She hoisted the 12-inch wooden trophy above her head, then led squad and crowd in the Naselle “Fight Song.”

Kragerud, one of five seniors playing their last game in a volleyball uniform, had had the last word. With the scoreboard showing two sets each and the Comets ahead 14-10 in the trophy game, she squared her tall frame up to the net and thwacked the ball between two opponents.

Her 43rd kill of the tournament.

As she turned from the net to embrace the victory, her teammates didn’t dogpile, preferring a tight hug, captain Kaylin Shrives kneeling, screaming, pumping both fists in the air. Eighth-grade manager Sophia Colombo and head coach Rebekah Wirkkala raced into the melee, equal partners in their squad’s success.

Courtside, his injured leg perched on a knee scooter, Arne Wirkkala clapped until he almost toppled. “Way to go, ladies!” His granddaughter, junior Kayli Wirkkala, had been the sixth starter for three games.

Goal

Naselle’s route was paved in the Lyle Patterson Gymnasium back in August, when Wirkkala and assistant coaches Hanna Higginbotham and Kayti Updike marshaled five senior starters and their flock of JVs and C-squad teens. It was the final year for Tarabochia, Kragerud, Shrives, Lauren Katyryniuk and Bella Colombo. The goal was set: third at state.

Other than a warmup contest against Adna, a larger school, the Comets won 15 games, only losing to Mossyrock, twice during regular season play and once at the district championships.

For the opening game Thursday against Moses Lake Christian, the coach started freshman Brooke Davis and subbed in Gladys Wilson, Mylinh Schell and Nicole Steenerson. “It was nice to get the bench in, in case I need them for later, to get those jitters out,” Wirkkala said.

‘Sweet’

Naselle won 25-14, 25-10 and 25-19. Shrives confused the opposition with the variety of her shots, some soft, some hard. Katyryniuk added firm shots, too.

Bella Colombo played all tournament with a brace from an earlier injury. Last year, she cheered her team on crutches.

Amid the competitiveness, she provided a lighter moment. She jumped up and the ball simply dropped through her hands. She laughed; everyone laughed. And Naselle lost the point.

Her coach wasn’t at all upset

“I just love good sportsmanship. It was sweet to see the other side and us and our girls react with each other,” Wirkkala said. “When Bella set that one that went between her hands, she usually has one per match, when the setter does little weird things. The other team even giggled and it was just kind of sweet across the net. Those type of moments. I just love that.”

‘Next’

Wirkkala was pleased with their “energy and positivity.” A motivational speaker had suggested a pragmatic approach.

“They mess up, they shake it off, they move on. ‘Next point.’ That’s kind of our theme this year. Next point. Next point. Next point. ‘Flush it,’” Wirkkala said. “Control what you can control and ‘flush’ the rest. Let it go! Like bad calls or, whatever, you mess up, or you’re frustrated, or whatever is going on, just ‘flush it’ and next point, because you are going to find good stuff.”

Against Odessa, Naselle won 25-19, 25-9 and 25-17. The Tigers struggled to gain any traction, except for a brief period in the third set where they led 5-0. The Comets clawed back the deficit. Davis made a solid kill and a block that earned equal applause.

Great-Grandma Hill’s noisy intervention offered immediate inspiration. Odessa made a return where the ball hit the top of the net, rolled along it, and threatened to drop in Naselle’s court. Tarabochia hit it back and it rolled along the top of the net and dropped onto Odessa’s court.

Katyryniuk then served an ace, Kragerud hit a winner, and miscues from Odessa saw WIAA staff at the bulletin board inking Naselle’s name into the semifinal slot on the 4-foot wide bracket poster.

Wirkkala played down any suggestion that it was easy. “We were pretty consistent, minus that third set burst. We kept a lot of pressure on them. Our girls were consistent. They are hard to stop when they are all ‘feeling it.’”

‘Spark’

Friday dawned. Naselle’s semifinal opponents were relentless.

The Nighthawks played with poise, demonstrating skill returning the ball from every corner. They have won every game this season in three sets, a feat they maintained through state, including the championship game repeat over Mossyrock.

Things were not so pleasant off court, however. Their coach was given an official caution for unsportsmanlike conduct; their male student section heckled every Comet serve and made “oinking” seal noises every time the ball was in Naselle’s court.

Oakesdale’s win was 25-19, 25-22 and 25-16. The Comets had their moments with Shrives making several kills and Tarabochia serving well. At 5-11, Kragerud proved a tough blocker; Colombo showed poise setting and kept morale high.

A bright spot was Schell’s contribution. One full-length diving dig soared over the net; another saved a point as Kragerud pounced on her diving pass and made a kill.

“She was just like this little spark of energy. The girls loved it!” said Wirkkala. Schell was happy to play any role. “The bench helps so much by being loud and keeping the energy up, and we help each other,” the sophomore grinned.

Four freshmen did not play, but Mallory Helvey, Sadie Kilponen, Haylee Rose and Mylee Dunagan added volume from the bench. Managers Ava Myers-Marshall and Sophia Colombo scurried on errands throughout and made their voices heard, too.

‘Choice’

The Comets faced their last opponents, the Chargers from Mary Walker School, looking up at three players over 6-feet tall fed by an energetic 5-3 setter.

Shrives set the tone with a kill for the first point. Colombo made a good block and Shrives served an ace. Kayti Wirkkala’s diving dig soared over the net and Kragerud had a kill. Two long rallies — one won, one lost — prompted the crowd to stomp and yell “Comet power!”

The scoreboard told the story: 25-23, 18-25, 25-20, 20-25 and 15-10. The second set was lost, but not before Kayti Wirkkala had served with aplomb.

“In that third set, the points were still single digit, it was kind of going back and forth, I could feel the shift in momentum,” Coach Wirkkala said. “We are going to be OK.”

In volleyball, the fifth set is played to 15. Shrives began the onslaught rolling the ball over the net then made a kill. Davis tipped the ball over gently and Shrives followed suit.

At 6-2, a timeout was called. Wirkkala remembered her words. “‘You have a choice right now. It’s yours to win, yours to lose. You have a choice to meet your goal of top three in the state — or not.’ And they all fired up.”

The Comets pushed the score to 9-2. At 12-7, roars from the adjoining court signaled Oakesdale had won the championship game. Thanks to a couple of bobbles, Naselle led 13-8, then 14-8. But the Chargers pulled closer. Twice.

And then Kragerud ended it all.

‘Sad’

Family snapshots with the trophy followed at the arena edge. Dorothy Hill has 19 grandchildren, including Coach Wirkkala. Tarabochia is one of 14 “greats.” “I was following these girls for four years,” Hill said. “It is going to be sad when they are done.”

Tarabochia made 62 digs during the tournament. She recalled a season of sweat. “I am just so happy,” she said. “It is totally worth it that we worked our butts off.”

Kragerud hadn’t entirely wiped away her tears when she and Shrives described their joy playing for all the little girls to come after them.

“This is probably the best team we have ever had,” said Shrives, who made 60 kills in four games. “This is Naselle history. For all five of us on the court, for us to bring this home means so much to us. We have dreamed of doing this. Reaching this high was our goal.”

Fittingly, Kragerud had the last word.

“Volleyball is just a sport, as well as a relaxing time, and we learn as a family and you grow together and lean on each other,” she said. “So playing together, ‘We are playing volleyball. We are just playing sports.’ But, no. This is my home. I need to be here. I need to show up. It sounds like a job — but at the same time it’s the best job in the world.”