Senior trio leads Bulldogs to sweep of Hawks

SANDPOINT — Shaking off any possible jitters or emotions from Senior Night, the Bulldogs looked sharp in dispatching Lakeland 25-13, 25-6, 25-19 on Tuesday night in 4A Inland Empire League volleyball at Les Rogers Court.

Laney Search finished with 28 assists and four aces, Kayla Neumann 13 kills and 10 digs and Cheyenne Nicholson some strong serving as the three seniors led the way on a night they were honored before the game.

“They kept their focus with all the Senior Night events. They knew this was an important game,” said Bulldogs head coach Erin Roos, who holds the trio of seniors in high regard. “I just love them. I’ve been able to watch them grow up and play. They’re all daughters I never had.”

The Bulldogs (19-12, 3-0 4A IEL) hit a season high .306 in the attack, buoyed by the return of sophomore Grace Hicks, who hammered nine kills after missing part of the season with injury. Kaitlan Ward had 10 digs and some strong service runs in the back row, and Lilly Anderson had four aces, as the Bulldogs look to build momentum heading into districts.

Mattisyn Cope tallied 14 kills, seven digs and four blocks to lead the Hawks, while Jalyn Mailhot added 20 set assists, Danielle Valerio two aces and Kate Hegbloom four blocks in defeat.

Sandpoint is at Moscow on Thursday in the regular season finale, where a win would seal home court advantage at the 4A Region 1 tournament on tap Saturday, Oct. 22.