Bulldogs eliminated from state volleyball tourney
—Photo by JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Sandpoint senior Kayla Neumann, pictured earlier in the season, played her last game as a Bulldog on Friday at state.
—Photo by ERIC PLUMMER Senior Cheyenne Nicholson, left, and sophomore Shelby Kluver saw their season end with a pair of losses at state.
IDAHO FALLS — There were a few bright moments, but it takes strong sustained play to advance at state, and the Bulldogs never seemed able to get any momentum going, losing 25-23, 25-16, 25-14 to Century and 21-25, 26-24, 25-22, 25-23 to Burley to end their season on Friday at the 4A state volleyball tournament at Hillcrest High School.
The Bulldogs (21-14) were swept by the reigning six time state champion Diamondbacks (27-14) in the opener, unable to find a rhythm offensively. In the consolation round, they were in position to win every set, but could not push through in crunch time.
Sandpoint head coach Erin Roos admitted it was a tough end to a strong season, as she felt her team didn’t play up to its potential.
“We are incredibly disappointed. Century and Burley were great teams, but I feel we beat ourselves,” said Roos. “We played tentative and tight, instead of aggressive and fearless. Everyone had moments of greatness, but we couldn’t show up on a consistent basis.”
In the opener against the defending champs, Laney Search tallied eight kills, 20 assists and seven digs, and Kayla Neumann eight kills and four digs, and the Bulldogs nearly took the first set before getting swept.
Grace Hicks added seven kills, Grace Kirscher five kills and two blocks and McCalee Cain 10 set assists and seven digs in defeat.
In the consolation round, the Bulldogs played better and won the first set, but dropped the next three, all in close fashion.
Shelby Kluver had a big game in the loss, posting 10 kills and four aces, Neumann added 12 kills, 15 digs and three blocks, Search eight kills, 29 assists, 12 digs and three aces, Hicks 10 kills, Kirscher seven kills and two blocks, Cheyenne Nicholson 18 digs and Kaitlan Ward 14 digs for the Bulldogs.
“Kaitlan and Shelby had a great tournament, which is encouraging for next year,” said Roos, whose team’s eyes were opened by the high level of volleyball from the southern part of the state. “The 4A level of competition is much higher down south, especially with Idaho Falls joining us. I hope to add a few southern Idaho tournaments on the schedule next year, so we aren’t so shell-shocked at state.”
Cain finished with 18 assists and nine digs, Alexis Davis three kills and three blocks and Lilly Anderson 10 digs, as all three join a host of other underclassmen next season with valuable state experience.