Tahoma senior Maria Bahlenhorst remembers her sophomore year when her high school volleyball squad came within a few points of advancing to state.

“I remember the seniors were crying,” Bahlenhorst said. “I didn’t want it to be us this year.”

Something happened in the first two matches at the West Central District tournament last weekend, the team clicked and played together in a way the Bears hadn’t since early in the season, and Bahlenhorst got her wish as Tahoma beat Graham-Kapowsin and Stadium to clinch a berth to the 4A state volleyball championships this week in Kennewick.

Bahlenhorst said Tahoma focused on Graham-Kapowsin in practice leading up to the district tournament so they knew the No.1 seeded team’s playbook inside out.

“We just wanted to win the first two matches and know we were going to state,” she said.

Since the beginning of the season, Bahlenhorst, a co-captain with senior Megan Brothers, knew the Bears had potential.

“The first day I saw the team I told my dad, ‘We’re going to state,’” she recalled.

Coach Sally Eager, who is in her first year with Tahoma after coaching at her alma mater Renton, also knew the team had talent but she wasn’t sure early on how it was all going to come together.

“When I first came out here I knew we had some pretty good volleyball players,” Eager said. “A lot of them play club, all of the varsity, so I was excited about that. We have a group of girls that have been playing together and they really like the game.”

And while they don’t have any monster power hitters like their first opponent at state, top seeded Mead from Spokane, Eager said her team plays good, technical volleyball and they’re smart on the court and “when they put it together they can put together a very nice match.”

Putting it together is exactly what the Bears did in the first rounds of districts, Brothers said, after the squad had to earn a spot in the playoffs the hard way and ended up playing Graham-Kapowsin.

“We were playing the No.1 seed going in so we knew we had nothing to lose,” Brothers said. “For all of us seniors, it was our last hurrah. It paid off very well. They were shocked at how we played.”

Brothers attributes it all to the team’s confidence and “we believed we could win.”

“It was the best feeling I’ve ever had in volleyball,” Brothers said. “We shocked everybody and proved to ourselves and everybody else that we were good enough to do this”

Both Bahlenhorst and Brothers are taking that confidence into their first match Thursday morning against Mead, after the Reporter’s press deadline. Check the Reporter Web site for scores and updates from the state tournament.

“We’re playing the No.1 seed again,” Brothers said. “We have to go out there and play with no fear. It’s state, you have to play with no regrets.”

Bahlenhorst added that “we’re looking for another upset.”

“I’m so glad it’s happening,” she said. “The whole year this team has been through a lot … it’s great to finish going to state.”

Plus, Brothers pointed out, there is a whole group of seniors on the team who want to make the most of the experience.

“The eight of us (seniors) we’re never going to be on the same team again so it’s all about having fun,” she said. “Keep your eyes on us.”