For two more weekends, Leia Dela Cruz will don the green and gold of the Timberline Blazers before she trades in her prep volleyball uniform for the blue and gold of the Centralia College Trailblazers.
One of Thurston County’s finest setters is staying close to home to play collegiate volleyball, as Dela Cruz signed with Centralia College on Sunday, Nov. 8 in the midst of a dominant senior season for the unbeaten Blazers.
Her path to Centralia occurred rather quickly. The coaching staff contacted Dela Cruz within the past month, and at the time, she was close to signing with another school before reconsidering her options. Centralia College head coach Ceanna Michalek gave her a tour of the campus, and Dela Cruz fell in love with the program.
“The coach is super nice. I love her so much. The team is very down to earth,” Dela Cruz said. “They work together, and they’re like a family. I could see myself going there. They reached out maybe a month ago. It was out of nowhere, and I feel like it was a sign that I should consider it among all my options.”
Dela Cruz hadn’t originally planned on playing collegiate volleyball after high school, as she was focused on pursuing a degree in nursing in hopes of becoming a geriatric nurse. But the Timberline volleyball season has caught the eyes of many schools around the region, and Centralia College’s team and nursing program caught Dela Cruz’s eye.
“It means a lot to me because volleyball is where I build my relationships and my friendships, and I’m glad I get to socialize with new people,” she said. “It’s sad leaving the Timberline family, but I’m excited to meet new people and create a bigger family.”
In her senior season, Dela Cruz has blossomed from one of the top setters in the county to one of the best in the state. She’s helped facilitate a 5-1 rotation that allows her to feed hitters such as Kinley Smith, Miya Jackson, Lilly Grant and Kinley Zimmerman.
This Timberline team is chock full of college-bound athletes. Along with Dela Cruz, Smith is headed to Western Washington, senior libero Jovie Lind is signed to Central Washington, and both Grant and Jackson are exploring collegiate options.
“To have all of these girls that I coach want to play at the collegiate level means that I didn’t make them hate volleyball,” Timberline head coach Matt Monnastes joked.
Monnastes and the Timberline coaching staff started the season with two senior captains in Smith and Lind. But after the first match of the season, Monnastes did something he had never done before: name a third captain.
Dela Cruz earned it not just by being the “quarterback” of the team but because of her leadership and her attention to detail, Monnastes said.
“She’s taken ownership in that role. She talks to me about plays and has found a voice on the court that I haven’t seen in the last three years,” he said. “It’s really cool watching her think analytically about the game and process what the opponent is doing.”
Dela Cruz joins a Centralia College volleyball team that just wrapped up a 17-12 regular season in 2026 and enters the NWAC Regionals as the West Region’s No. 3 seed.
But before she suits up for the Trailblazers, she has a couple more goals to reach with the Blazers. Timberline is two wins away from its first district championship since 2013, and the senior-heavy Blazers are gunning for their first 3A state title at next weekend’s state tournament in Yakima.
“We’re looking forward to the district title. We need to get over these teams because we have a chip on our shoulder. Everyone wants to beat us, and Central Kitsap is gonna want their get back,” Dela Cruz said. “We have to start strong and come in with more momentum and be louder.”
