Clark Fork volleyball drops both matches at state, sees season come to an end
Junior Katelyn Matteson prepares to serve the ball during a match against Wallace on Sept. 15. Matteson had nine kills in the loss to Castleford on Friday morning.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
BURLEY — The Clark Fork volleyball team saw its season come to end Friday night when they lost to Deary in a consolation match in the 1A Division II state tournament.
The Lady Cats fell 25-18, 25-22, 25-22. The team finishes the year with a 12-4 record.
"We should have beat [Deary], but the girls seemed exhausted," head coach Michelle Valliere wrote in a text. "Deary just had more energy and wanted it more than us."
Emily Myers led the team with 13 digs and six kills in the match against the Mustangs. Paige Valliere had 17 assists, Taylor Staley served five aces and Caiya Yanik added five blocks.
Friday morning, Clark Fork opened the state tournament against undefeated Castleford.
The Wolves swept the Lady Cats in three sets, 25-11, 25-23, 25-21.
Clark Fork got off to a rough start in the first set against Castleford and Valliere said the stage of the event impacted her team early.
"They were just nervous," she said. "They did not play their game."
However, in the second set the Lady Cats settled in and found their groove. The team jumped out to an early 5-0 lead over Castleford thanks to a pair of kills by junior Katelyn Matteson. But the Wolves battled back to tie it at 8-8 and the two teams went back and forth from there.
Matteson blocked a Castleford hit to give Clark Fork a late 23-22 lead. The Wolves called a timeout after the play and responded by winning three straight points to close out the second set.
"The second set we played a lot better," Valliere said. "We kind of got it together and we were passing the ball and making some smart plays."
The Lady Cats stayed within striking distance of the Wolves in the third set, but couldn't quite overcome Castleford's jump serves.
Valliere thought Matteson did a great job placing balls in the match and she was impressed with the play of Yanik.
"She stepped up and started blocking some of their hitters which made them not swing as hard," she said about Yanik.
Yanik finished with four blocks and Matteson led the team with nine kills. Paige Valliere tallied 21 assists and one ace and Myers added nine digs.
Everyone on this year's squad will be back next fall. Valliere said she is hoping to get some tougher opponents on the schedule next season to better prepare the Lady Cats for a state run.
"Just going down to state was a great experience," Valliere wrote. "Now the girls know what it's about and how hard you have to work together to get a win. I'm hoping this will really help our chances next year."