When the Sweet 16 gather for the weekend’s Class 2A state volleyball tournament, the White River Hornets will again find themselves in the heat of battle.

The Hornets qualified for the state tourney last weekend during the West Central District tournament, staged at Franklin Pierce High School. This marks the third state tourney appearance in a row for the program.

White River won three of four district matches to earn the No. 5 seed out of districts. The WCD experience began with a Friday with a five-game victory over Port Angeles. Saturday morning opened with a loss to eventual district champion Sequim, pushing White River into the loser’s bracket. The Hornets responded in fine form, beating Olympic in a loser-out contest and then downing Steilacoom in the tussle for the fifth and sixth seeds.

The state tourney opens Friday at Pierce College and the Hornets’ opener comes at 12:45 p.m. against Selah High. The other side of the bracket has Sehome playing Washington High; the two winners will square off, as will the losers, at 6:30.