Bristol, Wampus Cats shine at Genessee tourney

GENESSEE — Clark Fork notched a pair of impressive three-set wins over Grangeville and Deary, and put a scare into the host team en route to a third place finish at the eight-team Genessee Volleyball Tournament on Saturday.

The Wampus Cats (9-6) went 2-1 in pool play, beating Grangeville 25-14, 22-25, 15-12, then falling to Pomeroy 25-13, 25-11, and finally rallying to take down Deary 19-25, 25-18, 15-10 and advancing to play Genessee.

Clark Fork rose to the occasion in the first set, winning 25-22, before Genessee closed things out by the scores of 25-18, 15-7 to finish in third place.

“The girls were playing on all cylinders during the first set. Genesee took the next two sets, but we didn’t go down without a fight,” said Cats head coach Cindy Derr, noting there were a lot of long rallies. “I told the girls that was the best match they put together all season.”

Hailey Bristol tallied 17 kills on the day to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team, joining former Clark Fork players Jennifer Derr, Charlotte Scofield, Courtenay Kiebert, Amber Kiebert and Nicki Hurt as player to make it on the team.

Brooke Stevens tallied 47 assists, four kills and five digs, Allison Warner 16 kills and six digs, Ali Sutton seven kills and two aces, Tessa Sutton 10 kills and four aces, Emily Garman 12 digs, Ellie Lambert nine digs and Ellie Kiebert four kills and three digs on the day for the Wampus Cats.

“I moved Ellie Kiebert up from the JV and she stepped in and was a key factor on the right side right away,” praised Derr. “Allsion’s play on the left side keeps getting stronger each match. I am really pleased with her performance.”

The Cats made the most of the trip and traveled to Lewiston Friday night to attend the Lewis-Clark State College match against Great Falls, giving most of the team the chance to watch the college level for the first time.

Derr used to take teams to the Genessee Tournament regularly in her first stint as coach, and always felt it prepared her team for the post season. She’s hoping it’s the case this year.

“I knew by attending this tournament it would help us get through the next two weeks and post season play,” said Derr, who feels her team has the potential to punch their ticket to state, but it won’t be an easy task. “I told them it’s up to them. They know they can play, so which team is going to show up the rest of the season is up to them.”

Clark Fork, 6-1 in North Star League play, hosts Kootenai, 6-0 in North Star League play, tonight in a league clash at 7:30 p.m., following the JV match at 6 p.m. On Thursday, the team travels to Bonners Ferry for the “Dig Pink” matches, which honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month as the player will wear pink.