Wampus Cats eliminated from state volleyball on first day

LEWISTON — It was an up and down day for Clark Fork, which won once and lost twice and was eliminated on the first day of the 1A Division II state volleyball tournament on Friday at Lewiston High School.

The Wampus Cats (16-9) never seemed to find their footing in a 25-13, 25-14, 25-12 loss to Watersprings in the opener, before bouncing back to score a 25-20, 17-25, 25-20, 14-25, 15-11 win over Council in consolation. In their third match of the day, they were finally eliminated in a 25-13, 25-14, 25-7 loss to Salmon River.

“We came into today a little shell shocked against Watersprings and with the whole state experience,” admitted Cats head coach Cindy Derr. “They had a great match against Council and then didn’t come to play against Salmon River.”

Brooke Stevens led the way in defeat with 48 set assists, eight kills, five digs, three aces and two blocks, while fellow junior Hailey Bristol added 13 kills, six aces and four digs on the day, as the Cats got a glimpse of the level they’ll need to reach to contend for a state title next year.

“They just need to be able to come down and put a full tournament together as a team,” said Derr. “They need to believe in themselves and learn how to win no matter what and leave nothing on the table.”

Ellie Kiebert finished with eight digs, eight kills, six aces and three blocks, Grace Shelton 12 kills, four digs and two aces and Ellie Lambert eight digs.

If there is a silver lining in defeat, it’s that the Cats will return all but one player from this team, and with another year and talent everywhere, the team figures to be one of the early state favorites next season.

“I told them they need to be proud of making it to state and being one of the top eight teams in the state,” said Derr. “We finished 6th and we will be back next year. I was proud of the girls for the season they put together.”