Bulldogs knocked out at state volleyball tournament

MERIDIAN — The Bulldogs lost a tough five-set opener to Kuna in the first round, falling 25-20, 17-25, 21-25, 25-21 and 15-13 on Friday at the 4A Idaho State volleyball championships at Rocky Mountain High School in Meridian.

The Bulldogs (21-11) had designs on contending for a state title, but could not close out the pivotal opener against the Kavemen (16-4), knocking the Bulldogs into consolation.

“Tough match, well played on both sides. Those heart breakers, 15-13, one net ball and the game is totally different,” described Bulldogs head coach Jeff Hurst. “We fought hard, but didn’t overcome.”

Sandpoint bounced back to notch a 25-19, 27-25, 15-25, 25-23 win over Columbia in the first round of consolation, as the team settled into the state atmosphere and played their brand of volleyball.

“We settled down a little bit in the second match and handled Columbia. Everybody was playing well. Our air attack was in place. We were bombing balls for serve, but struggled in serve receive and were a little out of system,” described Hurst, praising the play of outside hitter Grace Hicks. “Grace was the best hitter in the gym. Legitimately the best hitter in the tournament. Unstoppable.”

Hicks finished with a team-high 44 kills on the day, followed by Shelby Kluver with 26 and Jenny Slaveck with 18. Gabby Hicks tallied 52 digs, with Kluver adding 30 and Slaveck 21 on the day.

The Bulldogs watched their next opponent, Middleton, get handled by Bonneville, and might have overlooked them a little before getting swept by the Vikings to knock them out of the tournament.

“We went out a little soft instead of jumping on them right away. When we’re not in system, banging balls, they were making us play it again. We were pressing a little too hard. Every point was a fight,” described Hurst of the final match of the day. “Ali Lish came off the bench and kind of saved our bacon with some great jump serving and defense. Jazmin was banging balls early in the match.”