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by Kyle Cajero Sports Editor
| September 6, 2019 1:00 AM

CLARK FORK — The Clark Fork volleyball team earned not only its first win of the season, but also its first upset with a five-set 16-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 15-9 win over 3A Bonners Ferry on Thursday night.

“We were playing a little timid at the beginning of the night, but in the past two games we’ve really picked it up and played hard,” Clark Fork head coach Michelle Valliere said. “In the Priest River game, we kind of played it safe. But at the end of tonight, I felt like we didn’t play it safe. We played our game.”

Senior Ellie Kiebert led the team with 20 kills and 11 digs in Clark Fork’s come-from-behind win. The tandem of Paige Valliere and the aforementioned Kiebert was especially effective, as the Valliere recorded a whopping 35 assists while Kiebert had 20 kills. The bulk of the duo’s work shone in the fourth set, as the Wampus Cats stormed back to force a fifth set with a 25-22 win.

“Ellie really started getting some kills and Paige was setting her some good balls,” Michelle Valliere said. “Ellie’s just a really good, all-around player and Paige is super young but motivated. She’s not intimidated at all.”

While Kiebert and Valliere brought out the best in each other, the five-set win was a team effort. Senior Aleehia Valliere had 20 digs and Abbie Anderson had a 14 ace-six kill night in addition to having a “smart” game at the net, according to her coach.

Sitting at 1-1 against 3A schools, Michelle Valliere is optimistic about her team’s chances to improve during this weekend’s JV tournament, held at Coeur d’Alene on Saturday.

“I feel like they’re doing really well. Our first two games were against bigger schools with more competition and harder teams, so having our first two games against bigger schools is hard to do,” Michelle Valliere said. “I’m happy that we took Priest River to five and Bonners Ferry to five [with a win]. I’m excited to see how the girls do in the Coeur d’Alene JV tournament. I think we need to just get a little more time on the court playing together and learning how to play with each other.”