Sandpoint claims win over Lake City

SANDPOINT — Piper Wahlin had 11 kills, and libero Abby Helander had 26 digs and six service aces to lead Sandpoint past Lake City 25-16, 25-19, 21-25 and 25-20 Tuesday night in IEL volleyball action at Les Rogers Court.

Koko James added 18 set assists and 10 digs, and Linnea Hawkins 16 assists and three blocks for Sandpoint (3-0, 3-0 IEL), which is brimming with confidence after winning the Walla Walla tournament last weekend.

"I felt like the first two games were solid, with good power and good communication," said Sandpoint coach Karen Alsager. "Then we let up on game three, which is typical in volleyball."

Ashley Kelley led Lake City (5-3, 2-2) with nine kills and three blocks, Sam Georgius added 20 assists and Rose Brooks seven digs in the loss. Head coach Jennifer Kelly was happy with the way her mostly young and inexperienced team battled with the reigning 4A state champions.

"We hung in there and won some rallies, which is good for our confidence," said Kelly. "We don't have the confidence in ourselves yet to feel like we should win, but everyone held their own."

Sandpoint hosts Lewiston in IEL action Saturday at 2 p.m.

? Clark Fork falls to Lakeside in opener

CLARK FORK — The Wampus Cats started strong in season-opening volleyball action Tuesday night, before fading down the stretch and losing to Lakeside 23-25, 25-18, 25-7 and 25-7 at Clark Fork High School.

Chelsea Macumber had six kills, Megan Hess seven aces, and Amy Gannon and Moranda Becker tallied 21 and 20 digs respectively in the match, which started with promise as the Cats beat Lakeside in the first game.

First year head coach Andrea Brandt loved her team's effort and cohesiveness, and says they'll need to work on sustaining the form they displayed early in the match before running out of gas.

"We started out strong with a lot of good rallies and looked great out there," said Brandt, coaching in her first high school game. "We kind of wore out by game three and kind of lost hope out there.

"We'll work on finishing out games, putting everything out there and continue it through the whole match."

Clark Fork (0-1, 0-1 NSL) plays today at 1A power Wallace.