Drama galore at state volleyball tourney
The history books will show the 2009 Sandpoint volleyball team finished the season with a third-place trophy at the state tournament. While there will be no championship banner to hoist, the Bulldogs should take solace in the fact they may have played in the best match in the state of Idaho this season, a thrilling five-set loss to eventual champion Bonneville in the semi-finals.
Forget the 4A ranks, or even the state of Idaho for that matter, two of the top teams in the Northwest went toe-to-toe for nearly two hours, with the Bees finally winning the fifth set 15-11. The Bonneville coach called it the best match she’d ever seen, and said it felt like it should have been for the championship.
For those who witnessed it, the match will be remembered for one epic point, which seemed to last for a good two minutes. The ball must have crossed the net more than 30 times, with numerous diving saves on each side, before the Bulldogs finally slammed home a winner.
Alas, the exchange was worth just one point, despite the raucous celebration by both the team and the crowd. Parents Joel Wahlin and Randy James, who’ve collectively watched hundreds upon hundreds of hours of volleyball through the years, each said it was the longest point they’d ever witnessed.
There was no shame in the Bulldogs’ loss to Bonneville. Sometimes a tip of the cap to the other team is warranted, and such was the case on Saturday.
A picture is worth a thousand words
When local photographer Cory Murdock snapped a picture of senior Christina Johnson piggy-backing teammate Koko James off the court after the Bulldogs were eliminated, it served as a perfect reminder of the essence of sports.
James, a four-year starter and arguably the best setter in the state, had severely rolled her ankle in the third and final set of the Bulldogs’ loss to Century. Unable to walk and with an ice pack on James’s ankle after the loss, Johnson, a three-year starter, picked up her teammate and carried her from the bench to the locker room in a poignant gesture.
The disappointment captured on the duo’s faces told a better story than any words ever could. The photo also illustrated what it means to be a teammate, that win or lose, the bonds forged will long outlast the outcome of the games.
A class act
As Bonneville and Century were playing for the 4A state championship in a mostly empty gym, two unlikely spectators stuck around to watch the one-sided, anti-climactic final.
With the rest of their teammates and much of the crowd heading back north to Sandpoint after a tearful and disappointing end to the season, Piper Wahlin and Koko James sat in the front row taking in the action. The two players won state titles as freshmen and juniors, and decided to stick around and pay homage to the very teams they had just lost to earlier in the day.
It was a classy and genuine gesture by two of the top players in the state.
An old axiom says that you can tell more about a person’s character in defeat than you can in victory. True, true.
Hammer time
Someone once said you didn’t need to see Nolan Ryan pitch to know how fast he was throwing, you just needed to hear the ball hit the catcher’s mitt. The same could be said for a Christina Johnson spike.
There are outside hitters who can jump higher and might accumulate more kills when it’s all said and done, but for shear thundering acoustics, I’ve yet to hear anyone hammer a kill with more force than Johnson. Some of her best kills don’t go around the poor opposing souls putting up a block at the net, but rather through them.
Well done, Wampus Cats
While a third-place finish might qualify as a mild disappointment in title-rich Sandpoint, it was celebrated with much greater vigor in Clark Fork, and for good reason. Boasting arguably their best team this decade, the Wampus Cats claimed their first hardware in seven years.
The North Star League champion Cats had a stellar showing at the 1A Division II state tournament in Lewiston. The two matches they lost on Saturday were both tightly contested four-setters, and the Cats were a small handful of points away from potentially claiming a state title.
Former player and current coach Carolyn Speelmon preached team unity from day one, and it paid off in spades this season. Seniors Chelsea Macumber and Shaina Gustafson were among the top players in the state in the 1A ranks and teamed with fellow seniors Moranda Becker, Jessica Cartmell and Kandice Daniels to lead the state run.
Sophomores Brocklynn Thornton and Celeste Komanec, and freshman Mariah Miller each played their best volleyball at state, a sign of more great things to come in Clark Fork.
Eric Plummer is the sports editor of the Daily Bee. For comments, suggestions or story ideas, he can be reached at “eplummer@cdapress.com,” or (208) 263-9534, ext. 226.