Bulldogs fall short to Lakeland on Senior Night
Junior Tori Pelkey (left) and senior Gabby Hicks try to block a hit by Lakeland's Katy Ryan during a match on Sept. 17 at Les Rogers Court.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Gabby Hicks poses for a photo with her family on Senior Night.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Bella Phillips poses for a photo with her family on a Senior Night.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
CeCe Deprez poses for a photo with her family on a Senior Night.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Katie Stewart poses for a photo with her family on a Senior Night.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Kaylee Banks poses for a photo with her family on a Senior Night.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Kinzie Ward poses for a photo with her family on a Senior Night.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Sam Koster poses for a photo with her family on a Senior Night.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
SANDPOINT — The Bulldogs gave a valiant effort but it wasn’t enough to overcome Lakeland and star outside hitter Katy Ryan. Sandpoint fell 25-18, 25-20, 25-20 to the Hawks on Thursday night at Les Rogers Court.
Ryan finished with 16 kills and seven blocks.
Prior to the match, the Bulldogs honored their seven seniors. Emotions are always high on senior night, but especially with a team like this. These players have been playing together their whole lives and it was evident when each player had their name called.
Head coach Karen Alsager said the camaraderie between these seniors is special.
"They cherish every day that they get to spend together especially with COVID, that's why we had Senior Night tonight," she said. "This is a unique group of girls. This is my second year coaching them and I've had no drama within my team and that speaks highly to their upbringing."
In years past, the underclassmen did a celebratory dance to honor the seniors. But this year, the Bulldogs' five underclassmen grabbed the mic and read aloud thoughtful messages about the seniors. Alsager said it was touching.
The energy and crowd inside Les Rogers Court was buzzing for the opening set and the Bulldogs tried feeding off of it, but the Hawks were having none of that and took the first set with ease.
In the second set, Sandpoint showed some resiliency fighting back from a 17-10 deficit to pull within two points and force a Lakeland timeout. The student section rose to their feet and shook the court but once again the Hawks pulled away.
The Bulldogs controlled a good portion of the third set and went on a run midway through to take a 15-12 advantage. It looked like Sandpoint was going to grab its first set of the season, but Ryan had an answer and carried the Hawks to an Inland Empire League victory.
Alsager said she saw so many positive things from her team that it really didn't feel like a loss.
"Even though we didn't take a game from them, I think that we feel that we're not afraid of this team and if we can get some disconnect figured out I feel that we can play with these guys to contend to go to the state tournament," Alsager said.
Gabby Hicks led the team with seven kills, Bella Phillips added five and Tori Pelkey had four. Lauren Breuner notched 14 assists and nine digs, Kinzie Ward tallied 14 digs and three aces and Phillips had two blocks.
The varsity team couldn't breakthrough, but the Bulldogs JV and JV II teams took down the Hawks.
Alsager said the Bulldogs passing was on point Thursday and she can't wait to build off of it.
"I'm actually feeling excited about being able to practice and to fix some of these things within three weeks time and have this boil down to a district tournament," she said.
Sandpoint (0-6, 0-1 IEL) travels to Lewiston 2 p.m. Saturday.
