With its victory over Estacada, the North Bend volleyball team is headed to Eugene for the state tournament on Friday, and defensive specialist Justine Head offered a simple reaction.

“It’s amazing,” she said.

The Bulldogs beat the visiting Rangers in four games, 25-9, 22-25, 25-14, 25-21, in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.

“I’m very happy,” said North Bend coach Les Willett, who added that he’s glad to be back to the state tournament in North Bend’s first trip since winning the state title four years ago.

“We don’t get that many opportunities. It’s just nice.”

The Bulldogs showed why they are the state’s top-ranked team in game one, as their serving and offense fired on all cylinders.

Junior outside hitter Haley Dunham got the Bulldogs going, rattling off 11 straight serves, and senior Alexandra Mateski took over the offense earning four kills out of the Bulldogs’ first six points.

The Rangers never caught up, but came out in game two ready to play. They kept it close early and overtook North Bend 19-18 before running away with the rest of the game thanks to a few Bulldog mistakes.

“I think we just started to relax a little too much,” Head said.

Willett said he expected Estacada to put up a fight, even after the Bulldogs handed the Rangers a dominating loss in the first game.

“It’s just the nature of the beast,” he said. “I knew that Estacada was better than they played the first game.”

And the Rangers certainly didn’t make it easy for the Bulldogs. Estacada started game three with the lead, as volleys intensified and both teams became increasingly tough on defense. Estacada missed a serve, and North Bend took advantage of the opportunity.

Head stepped behind the service line, and served up a few aces and 10 straight points. Mateski, who led the Bulldogs on offense with 26 kills, ended the game with two straight kills.

Estacada’s Jourdan Wenzinger started game four with an ace, and helped the Rangers take a 3-0 lead. North Bend moved in front 7-6, but Estacada stole the lead right back. North Bend’s Camille Deming served five straight points to build a 13-9 lead, but Estacada bounced back.

The Rangers’ Cierra Anderson served five points with two aces to put the Rangers back in front, but a missed serve and a Mateski kill gave the Bulldogs the upper hand again.

The game was tied at 18, 20 and 21, before Mateski stepped back to serve. A tip from setter Katie Banta and a powerful kill from Dunham ended the match 25-21, and the Bulldogs finally could celebrate.

Dunham finished with 16 kills and three aces, and Banta had 45 assists. Head and Ashley Horlacher led the team on defense with 21 digs apiece, while Dunham and Mateski both had 16 digs, and Banta added 17.

Dunham was happy with how the Bulldogs played.

“Communication was way better,” she said.

Head added that serve receive and defense, two things the Bulldogs have worked hard on all season, were strong components in the victory.

“Serve receive was better than it’s been in a long time,” she said.

Willett said the players just need to concern themselves with their own abilities when they take on Astoria on Friday.

“I knew starting this game, we have to play our best,” Willett said. “When we’re aggressive we played very well. I wish we would play more aggressive.”

Willett said the Bulldogs need to work on focus and intensity, and make sure those hold true through the entire match. Head agreed.

“We need to just be mentally prepared for it,” she said.

In the quarterfinals, North Bend takes on Astoria, which finished second in the Cowapa League and beat defending state champion Central 3-2 Saturday afternoon. The match at Lane Community College is scheduled to start at 6 p.m., with the semifinals later in the evening.

Admission to the state tournament is $7 for adults and $4 for students for the quarterfinals and increases to $8 and $5 for the semifinals and finals. Tournament passes are $25 for adults and $14 for students.