Wampus Cats notch impressive win over Badgers
(Photo by ERIC PLUMMER) Clark Fork junior Ellie Kiebert hits a jump serve for one of her six aces as teammate Ellie Lambert looks on. The Cats notched a big win over the Badgers on Thursday night.
CLARK FORK — If there was any lingering doubt that the 2018 Wampus Cat volleyball team was legit, it was erased on Thursday night, in a decisive 25-8, 23-25, 25-11, 25-17 win over 3A Bonners Ferry in home opening nonleague volleyball action at Clark Fork High School.
Brooke Stevens tallied 29 set assists and 11 digs, and Ellie Kiebert hammered 13 kills to go with six aces, as the Wampus Cats notched their second win in a row over a 3A Intermountain League foe after sweeping Priest River.
The Cats (2-0) ripped 18 aces against 11 service errors, making it difficult for the Badgers to get into any offense.
“To be able to get that many aces off a 3A school, I was happy with our serving. We played two 3A schools and only lost one game,” lauded Cats head coach Cindy Derr, who liked her team’s defense. “They were there digging everything, really aggressive. They’re picking up a ton of stuff we’ve never seen.”
Hailey Bristol and Tessa Sutton each had six kills, and Sutton added two blocks, and Ellie Lambert and Aleehia Valliere were strong in the serve-receive. The Cats got some bad news when senior Grace Shelton injured her knee, and will miss the rest of the season.
The 1A Wampus Cats will take a rare venture up into the big leagues, playing at the Lakeland Invite on Saturday in the same pod as 5A Coeur d’Alene High School. Derr got her team in the tourney for this exact reason to play up and improve in the hopes of contending for a state title.
“Win or lose, we don’t care, just don’t get down,” said Derr, who felt her team is ready after handing the Badgers. “I liked our aggressiveness, the tempo of the game being sped up. We’re getting stronger and stronger day by day, practice by practice.”