Published 11:39 pm Friday, November 6, 2026

For the fourth time in five years, the Bend High volleyball team will play for a Class 5A state title.

The second-seeded Lava Bears won their first two tournament games Friday to advance to Saturday evening’s championship game against No. 1 Crescent Valley at 6:30 p.m. at Central High School in Independence.

Bend reached the championship game with a 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19) win over No. 10 La Salle Prep in the afternoon before sweeping Summit in the semifinals late Friday night.

Despite reaching the title game four times since 2022, the Lava Bears are seeking their first state title since 2017.

Saturday’s matchup against Crescent Valley will mark the third time since 2022 that Bend and the Raiders have met in the championship game. Crescent Valley got the best of the Lava Bears in 2022 and 2023.

Summit, Sisters, Central Christian reach semifinals

No. 3 Summit reached the semifinals after sweeping Crater (25-17, 25-14, 25-16) in the quarterfinals.…