Bears down Bulldogs in five-set thriller; soccer teams swept

SANDPOINT — The Bulldogs had four players reach double figures in kills, but a slow start proved too much to overcome, as Moscow scored a 25-23, 25-23, 19-25, 25-27, 16-14 five set win over Sandpoint in a 4A Inland Empire League volleyball thriller on Tuesday night at Les Rogers Court.

Taylor Martin led the Bulldogs (10-7, 2-1 4A IEL) with 14 kills and three aces, Laney Search added 13 kills and nine digs, Amy Shepard 11 kills and 11 digs and Kayla Neumann 10 kills and two blocks, as all four figured prominently in the attack.

Darbey Scrimsher tallied 50 assists directing the attack, and Trinity Young finished with 23 digs, as each set was tightly contested and came down to the wire.

“Trinity kept us in the game with her defense. Moscow attacked our deep corners and she closed down ball after ball,” said Bulldogs head coach Erin Roos. “We started out slow and playing frantic, making a lot of mistakes.”

The Bulldogs showed some heart in the fourth set, erasing a 21-15 deficit to force a fifth and deciding set, then erased a 13-9 deficit in the final set to tie the game at 14-14 before the Bears closed it out.

Sandpoint is at 5A state champion Lewiston on Thursday.

n Bulldog girls fall short against Timberwolves

SANDPOINT — Lake City sophomore forward Havana Johnson scored a hat trick, proving all of the goals in her team’s 3-2 win over Sandpoint in nonleague girls soccer on Tuesday night at War Memorial Field.

After Johnson’s first two goals staked the Timbervolves (8-2) to an early lead, a Lake City defender misplayed a ball back to goalie Tiegan Horton, resulting in an own goal and a 2-1 lead, before Johnson found the back of the net again two minutes later for her third goal of the first half.

“It was a tale of two halves,” said Lake City coach Matt Ruchti. “We withstood Sandpoint’s pressure in the second half and got the result.”

Olivia Moore scored her first goal of the season off an assist from Nan Kiebert in the 65th minute, giving the Bulldogs (1-6-2) a little life, but neither team would score after that. Paige Dumars made a couple of diving stops in the second half to keep the game close.

Sandpoint is at Post Falls on Saturday.

First half — 1, Havana Johnson (Alissa Jolliff), 5:00. 2, LC, Johnson (Meaghan Bare), 11:00. 3, Spt, own goal, 19:00. 4, LC, Johnson (Bare), 21:00. Second half — 5, Spt, Olivia Moore (Nan Kiebert), 65:00.

Shots on goal — Spt 5, LC 7.

Saves — Spt, Paige Dumars, 4; LC, Tiegan Horton, 4.