Columbia volleyball was undefeated. Then a COVID-19 outbreak ended its season.
The Columbia High School volleyball team entered the week undefeated and tied atop the conference standings. But by Thursday, its season was over due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
Columbia volleyball coach Cathy Curtis said the team’s first positive coronavirus test came back Tuesday. The 4A Southern Idaho Conference worked with the Wildcats, offering to push back the start of the upcoming district tournament.
But by Thursday afternoon, the team had three positive tests. Their two-week quarantine will now last through Oct. 22 — a day after the district championship match.
So the league will have to move on without Columbia (4-0, 3-0 4A SIC).
“It’s just so sad because these kids have worked so hard,” Curtis said. “They are just starting to jell and play so hard together. It’s a sad situation that they can’t compete and show how good they are.”
Columbia’s outbreak underscores the dangerous waters Idaho’s high school teams must navigate in the coming weeks. A quarantine early in the season had little long-term effect. But shutting down a team now would cost it a shot at the state tournament.
Curtis said the Wildcats followed all the prescribed safety procedures and didn’t have any coronavirus-related problems until this week.
“We didn’t have any scares, with no one being sick and no symptoms,” Curtis said. “Then it’s wham, bam. Thank you, ma’am.”
Curtis said she had to inform her team about the season’s cancellation in an email. She’s texted with a few players but can’t meet with them due to the quarantine.
“(I told them) that I miss them, I’m sorry and it’s out of our control,” Curtis said. “It’s just a bad hand that we got dealt.”
Curtis said she especially felt for her two seniors, McKenna Dribnak and Naomi Bergmann, whose careers ended with a quarantine.
“They contributed all their lives,” she said. “And now they get robbed their senior year of a chance to go to state.”
KUNA GIRLS SOCCER IN, THEN OUT OF QUARANTINE
The Kavemen’s season came to an abrupt end Thursday night when they learned a positive coronavirus case would end their season. But Kuna then learned the test was a false positive Friday afternoon, allowing it to re-enter the district tournament.
Kuna (2-4-4) will open the district tournament against Skyview at 10 a.m. Saturday at Centennial High.
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 3:56 PM.
