YAKIMA — When you’re the four-time reigning Class 2A volleyball state champions and suffer your first tournament loss since 2019 — as the Columbia River Rapids did in Saturday’s semifinal — the real test becomes how well you bounce back.

That process started well before the Rapids stepped onto the court for what turned into a sweep of Sehome for third place.

Between River’s three-set semifinal defeat to Ellensburg and its 25-15, 25-21, 25-23 victory over Sehome hours later, head coach Breanne Smedley and her staff made a quick run to a local store in hopes to lift the team’s spirits.

Their solution: silliness and light-heartedness with whoopie cushions, masquerade-style masks and tiaras, to name a few. Each player got her own surprise pregame.

Anything for a laugh, Smedley said. And th

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