SHS volleyball hopes dedication in the summer pays off

SANDPOINT — Karen Alsager’s return to the Sandpoint volleyball program last season was filled with positives and negatives.

On one hand, the Bulldogs 5-13 record was the worst in Alsager’s coaching career. On the other hand, it was one of the most positive coaching experiences Alsager has ever had and it reignited her fire to be around the girls.

When Alsager agreed to come out of retirement and take over the head coaching duties for a second time last summer, she planned on only staying one season while training her successor. That quickly changed when she realized how much she enjoyed being back on the volleyball court.

The Bulldogs have adjusted to Alsager’s system and are eager to put a disappointing 2019 season behind them.

“This year everyone has great chemistry,” senior captain Bella Phillips said. “We all work really good together, and I think as long as we keep our heads high and forget about last season, we will be successful.”

Sandpoint only lost three players from last year’s squad and returns nine, including seven seniors.

Alsager was hired late last summer and the girls only got a few days with their new coach before practices kicked into high gear. But this summer, the team got seven weeks in the gym together while navigating the coronavirus pandemic.

Alsager said the girls got plenty of touches and well over 30 players were showing up on a consistent basis.

“We hit it as pretty much as hard as we could,” she said.

Alsager said she heard the other schools in the Inland Empire League struggled to get in the gym this summer and she believes the extra time the Bulldogs got together will help them this fall.

“We’re kind of the underdogs going in no matter what,” she said, “but I’m hoping that the summer program we put in gets us to the point where we can be competitive. We will need that edge.”

Alsager claimed two state titles at Sandpoint during her first stint as the head coach. She had at that time making state every season was an expectation, but now the Bulldogs have to fight tooth and nail with Moscow and Lakeland to earn the league’s sole state berth.

However, this year Sandpoint will only have to get past the Hawks because Moscow canceled all fall sports.

Lakeland is the defending league champs and they return several key players including senior Katy Ryan, who has verbally committed to Washington State University. Last season, the Bulldogs failed to win a single game against the Hawks and with the 4A and 5A IEL combining this season, matches against Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and others will be even more important.

Alsager said her team isn’t going to stack up athletically with some of the other schools they face, but as a unit the Bulldogs can compete with anyone.

“We’re going to have to be smarter and more disciplined,” she said. “Cohesively, we’re going to have the edge.”

The one thing Alsager is worried about is her team’s lack of depth. Alsager said she has a solid starting six and reliable players coming off of the bench, but if one gets hurt then the Bulldogs could be in trouble, so health is a top priority this season.

Phillips and senior Gabby Hicks will lead the Bulldogs in the power department this year. Hicks, an all-league selection in 2019, is moving from middle blocker to outside hitter this fall.

Hicks said she is going to miss blocking, but she is looking forward to getting others involved and being a key attacker on offense.

Alsager is expecting defensive specialists Kinzie Ward and Sam Koster to be the teams main ball handlers, and senior CeCe Deprez and junior Lauren Breuner are battling it out at setter.

“I’ve always loved just being in control of the back row,” Ward said about her position.

Ward said she saw the team improve tremendously with the reps they got this summer and she’s confident in every player that steps on the court for the Bulldogs.

“We’ve been with each other forever,” she said. “I think it’s definitely going to help us and we’re going to be scrappy.”

Phillips will remain at middle blocker this season and Alsager is also expecting junior Tori Pelkey to be a factor at that position.

Phillips is one of the Bulldogs two captains and over the past few years she has earned the nickname “Big Dawg.” The nickname stems from Phillips’ presence at the net and she lives up to it.

“It makes me feel very special,” Phillips joked about the nickname.

The other team captain is senior Katie Stewart. She suffered an injury this summer and Alsager is hoping Stewart can get healthy because she provides great leadership on and off the court.

Hicks battled a back injury late last season but she is feeling 100 percent as she guns for the league MVP award.

Hicks said the team addressed last year’s disappointing season by grinding and getting stronger in the weight room.

“The biggest thing for us I think is execution,” Hicks said. “We always have room to do better and the fact that we came in third for league, yes, that was expected with a brand new team, but that’s not an excuse. We are going to work as hard as we can to be able to beat out the teams to get to [state].”

Ward said there’s never a dull moment between the seven seniors on the team and that bond makes them stronger on the court.

“We have so much fun together, sometimes it’s hard to focus,” Phillips said. “I never dread coming to practice, and I look forward to seeing everybody and just playing volleyball.”

Phillips said she wants to go out with a bang in her final year on the team.

“I just want to have a really good season and I’m just excited for it to start,” she said. “It’s sad too because this is my last year, but I’m just making the most of it.”

Alsager said she has loved being around the girls over the past few months and giving them a piece of normalcy. She just wants her team to get a chance to compete this fall.

“We’re going to take every day as a gift,” she said. “I will feel very fortunate if we can get through the season unscathed by the pandemic.”

Sandpoint volleyball opens the season today with a tri-match at Lewiston High School. The Bulldogs will play Lewiston and Lakeland starting at noon. The team hosts Post Falls in their home opener 7 p.m. Thursday at Les Rogers Court.