Bulldogs notch first volleyball win

SANDPOINT — In a match up of two of the top teams in the Inland Empire League, Sandpoint served notice that they will be a force to be reckoned with, dispatching Moscow, last year's IEL champion, 25-21, 25-15, 23-25 and 25-20 Thursday night at Les Rogers Court.

Katie Watson had a monster game, tallying 13 kills to go along with 25 digs. Jacque Palaniuk added 11 kills and Savanna Lester had 25 digs and as always, provided a spark with her hustle. As good as the Bulldogs (1-0, 1-0) looked in their opener, head coach Karen Alsager thinks they haven't even scratched the surface of their potential.

"For the first time out, to get the jitters out, I'm satisfied," she said. "We can improve on defense."

The biggest story of the night was not just the play of senior Lydia Tollbom, but the fact that she even played at all. She recently was run over by a car while skateboarding, and while there were no broken bones, she wore a bandage on her left forearm and was covered in scrapes and bruises. Despite all of that, she still managed to hit some impressive bombs from the outside with her one good arm.

"I'm happy that she could even play tonight," said Alsager, noting that Tollbom brings a lot of consistency to the lineup.

Alsager also praised the pinpoint serving of Julia Witte, who had three aces and many of her service runs went for multiple points.

Kortney James, Kaiti Lunde and Piper Wahlin, all freshman, made their varsity debut and demonstrated that they will play substantial roles in the Bulldogs' season.

Sandpoint hosts Coeur d' Alene on Sept. 7.