Wampus Cats fall at state tournament

BURLEY — Clark Fork came out clicking early, but could not hold it together late, falling 21-25, 25-9, 25-14 and 25-11 to Tri-Valley in the opening round of the 1A Division II volleyball tournament on Friday at Burley High School.

Mariah Miller hit six kills to go with 18 digs, Brocklynn Thornton added 12 digs, four blocks and three kills, Celeste Komanec 13 assists, Claire McMahon 13 digs and Dimi Kailang two blocks as the Wampus Cats (11-5) could not sustain an early pace.

“We kind of fell apart mentally,” said Cats head coach Michelle Adams, whose team could not find a rhythm. “We couldn’t pull ourselves out of it. Now we’re shooting for fifth place.”

The Cats faced Dietrich in the consolation round on Friday night, and while they played better, they could not get the win, falling 25-21, 25-16 and 25-23 to end the season.

Komanec posted 17 assists, five digs, four blocks and two aces in defeat, Thornton added eight kills and seven blocks, Lyndsie Kiebert 18 digs and Kailang four kills and 13 digs for the Cats (11-6).

“We picked it up a little,” said Adams of the second match. “We just didn’t have the fight in us.”