Undefeated all season and now this.

Defeat.

Kuna High jumped and celebrated its 4A District-III volleyball title on Oct. 22 at Middleton High — an upset — and emotions took their toll on nearly all of Columbia's players after such a riveting battle.

There were rallies, momentum swings, ups, downs, four games decided by three points or less — and it all left Jessica Tiffany in disbelief that her Columbia Wildcats fell short.

This was defeat, the Wildcats' first of the season, and Tiffany said it tasted like "a rotten apple."

Heads were down. Disappointment swept across the hardwood. And in the locker room, tears were shed from Wildcat to Wildcat, although there was one player who didn't cry — Tiffany.

Not one teardrop.

"I talked to the girls and I told them in the locker room, 'It's OK, look how far we've come and everything we've accomplished,' " Tiffany said.

The Wildcats (16-1) have accomplished quite a lot since their inaugural 2006 winless season. They improved by 10 wins from last year, which ultimately gives them their first-ever volleyball 4A state tournament appearance, starting today against Bonneville (33-3), the No. 1 seed out of District VI. The match is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. at Post Falls High.

Tiffany, who said she verbally committed to play at Idaho next season, is a big reason why those aforementioned team accomplishments came into fruition. The leave-it-all-on-the-floor competitor has grown immensely during her high school career, fine turning her skills while her awareness has shot through the roof.

The player her coach calls long, lanky, physical and intense has complete skills whether playing the back row or slamming a kill.

 "That's the difference between good and great," Columbia coach Schuyler Vezina said.

Her hitting has progressed, too — helped by her offseason dedication — causing Vezina to say, "I think she's potentially an awesome college player."

Comparing Tiffany's abilities as a freshman to now are night and day in contrast.

"Each step of development is really not comparable to the last," Vezina said. "Last year, she was OK. She was a good hitter. But again, she was all potential. And this year, she's just fine tuned it."

Tiffany's development has paralleled the leaps-and-bounds improvement Columbia has made from its 2007 one-win campaign. That was her sophomore year, when she and her teammates "cherished" the lone victory, because it was so rare.

Columbia did not win a game in 2006.

But last year, they won six games, building faith and inner belief heading into this season.

That said, the Wildcats' expectations were high, but an undefeated finish was not Vezina's goal.

"My goal was just to be top-two in our district and go to state," said Vezina, whose team is seeded second out of District III. "We were so close to undefeated, that would've been nice. But again, it wasn't about being undefeated. It was about beating a team (Kuna) we could've beaten.

"We didn't play great, and they played better. They didn't do many things wrong.

"They just beat us."

Unexpected is how Tiffany described the loss.

The Wildcats pulled out a five-set win against the Kavemen just nine days before the district title match, all the reason why she thought another victory would come forth. That didn't happen, but going forward, as the Wildcats begin their state-title quest today, she believes the loss provides good motivation.

"I think we needed to get a taste of that, just so we know that we won't lose again, because we don't want to feel like that," Tiffany said.

"I think it makes us stronger."