The Auburn Moutainview volleyball program will make its fifth consecutive state 3A tournament appearance Friday.

The No. 7 Lions (16-4) will begin first-round play against No. 6 Bishop Blanchet (14-9) at 1:30 p.m. at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.

Normally ranked among the top teams in the state year, Auburn Mountainview toiled unranked for a large portion of this season, courtesy of two early 3-0 nonleague losses to 4A Rogers and Puyallup.

“It was good to know that we weren’t invincible,” senior co-captain Kelsey Fausko said. “It was good to have those early losses and know that we could learn from them.”

Added sophomore setter Sam Odren: “It was hard, but it also showed us that when we’re not together, we don’t play as tough as we should.”

But the Lions rebounded, putting together an 11-match winning streak to capture the South Puget Sound League 3A title. Auburn Mountainview went on to earn a state berth with a second-place finish at the sub-district tourney and a third-place finish at the district meet.

Fausko, who was named the SPSL 3A MVP this week, said the team’s performance this year was based on its unity.

“We wanted to just build the program and get back to the basics,” Fausko said. “We didn’t really want to make a ton of huge goals. We just wanted to get everything back on track.”

Fausko said the team was “a little off track last year because of leadership issues.

“Now, we get along so well,” Fausko said. “We have the best team chemistry I’ve ever experienced. We love each other, we look to each other for help. We support each other 100 percent. That’s definitely been our key.”

Odren agreed.

“We just wanted to stay together as a family and push ourselves to greatness,” said Odren, who joined her older sister, Sam, on the All-SPSL 3A first-team squad.

“On the court, volleyball is a game of mistakes,” Fausko said. “When you have the team behind you that supports and backs you, it’s that much easier to move on the next play.”

Last year, the Lions faced Bishop Blanchet in the first round of the state tourney, losing 3-0. Although the team bounced back to win, it ultimately was unable to secure a placing.

In fact, the Lions have yet to place in their previous four trips to state. And that’s something that Fausko and the rest of the team hope to change this weekend.

“We’re very aware. We know what our standard is,” Fausko said. “We know that we have this legacy where we’ve been to state five times. We just need to put the work in, try our hardest and just do our best.”