Bulldogs fall to T-wolves in home opener

SANDPOINT — Klaire Mitchell stuffed the stat sheet with 31 assists, seven kills, seven digs, four aces and two blocks, leading the 5A Timberwolves to a 25-15, 25-23, 25-21 sweep of Sandpoint in nonleague volleyball at Les Rogers Court.

Arlaina Stephenson had nine kills, Ashley Reyes eight digs, Ashley Kaufman four aces and Claire Heberer three blocks for the Timberwolves (2-0), who trailed the Bulldogs 18-10 in the second set before rallying for the win.

“We fought through the first day of school type match, and were just off all night,” said first year Timberwolves coach Mike Summers. “It was good to see resilience to battle back. Klaire was all over the place tonight.”

Grace Hicks led the Bulldogs (4-2) with nine kills, 12 assists and six digs, Marina Breuner 19 assists and two aces, Kaitlan Ward eight digs, Jenny Slaveck six kills and Shelby Kluver five kills and five digs in the loss.

The second set melt down carried over into the third, and the Bulldogs could never seem to find a rhythm. Bulldogs head coach Erin Roos said errors in the serving and passing game proved costly.

“We were very tentative, hesitated, with poor communication. We were playing not to lose,” said Roos, who felt her team beat itself in the home opener. “There’s waves, and when the other team has momentum and you panic, it’s hard to recover.”

Sandpoint travels to face Coeur d’Alene on Thursday.

n soccer postponed due to smoke

The Sandpoint at Lakeland boys game and Lakeland and Sandpoint girls game were postponed on Tuesday. No make up date has been set.