'Desire to win' guiding Wampus Cats volleyball in 2017

Stevens, Bristol lead young Cats in quest for state

By ERIC PLUMMER

Sports editor

SANDPOINT — Despite returning only underclassmen, the Wampus Cat volleyball team is surprisingly seasoned, and led by a strong junior class and arguably the best setter in the North Star League, contending for a state trophy could be in the cards.

Just don’t try getting longtime head coach Cindy Derr to talk about it. While some coaches freely express their season goals, which are always rosy and high this time of year, Derr prefers to focus on getting better and letting the season play out one game at a time, sans expectation.

But make no mistake, the Cats went 7-3 in North Star League play last year and are hoping to improve on that success and grab one of the two state berths from the league. Derr has noticed a different feel about her team early in practice, and it’s a pleasant one.

“The desire to win. Everybody’s grown up a year, they want it more,” described Derr. “There’s a positive vibe from everybody.”

Junior Brooke Stevens earned all-league honors last season, and has devoted much time this off-season to improving as a setter. The three-sport athlete will be entrusted to run a 6-1 offense, meaning she’ll be very busy and will never leave the court as the lone setter.

She’s also one of a handful of strong servers, including a rare 15 point service run last year against Genesis Prep, and will regularly eclipse 25 set assists each night quarterbacking the attack.

“She’s been going to Spokane every week this summer. All around great athlete and court smart,” lauded Derr of Stevens. “She’s being a vocal team leader, the girls respect her.”

On the other end of those sets will be junior Hailey Bristol, who hit double digit kills a few times last season and earned a spot on the all-tournament team in Genesee, and junior outside hitter Grace Shelton.

Sophomore Ellie Kiebert is the classic glue player and strong in all phases of the game, a player that Derr will lean on as a tone-setter, which every strong team needs.

“Ellie is our best leader. She has that Kiebert instinct, they’ve all been team leaders,” claimed Derr, who expects Bristol to have a break out season. “Hailey has hitting power and she serves well when she gets on a roll.”

Providing the Cats with a strong block will be junior sisters Tessa and Ali Sutton, each of whom stuffed the opposition last year, and they’ll be joined on the front row by sophomore Sophie McMahon and senior transfer Jadyn Delay.

Junior Ellie Lambert will anchor the back line as the libero, posting a handful of double digit dig games last year, and she’ll join sophomore Aleehia Valliere and Kiebert on a strong defensive back line. So far, unity is a definite strength of the team.

“They’re really close. They’ve played club ball together, basketball together, just a tight knit group of girls,” said Derr. “They’ve stuck with playing year round.”

Derr was happy to announce that Michelle Valliere is coaching the JV, and former Wampus Cat Lyndsie Kiebert is an assistant coach for the first time.

All of the coaches are stressing a familiar mantra for volleyball, including three big traits that Derr is looking for.

“Work hard, be a team, be loud. We’ll see a lot more vocal teamwork happening on the court,” she predicted. “Serving will be strong. We get to play at different levels from jungle ball to the big schools.”

The bigger schools include Priest River, Bonners Ferry and the Post Falls JV, which offer the Cats a look at the level of teams they’ll face at state, should they get that far. The Genesee tournament also offers a great chance to face tough competition, sharpening the Cats for league play.

Wherever the Wampus Cats go this season, they’ll likely be driven by Stevens, one of the top players in the North Star League.

“We’ve all played together for so long. We’re really good friends, and we don’t have drama,” said Stevens. “It’s all about working together as a team.”