Spartan volleyball goes 1-4 in jam-packed opening week
Sophomore Addisen Kingery elevates to hit the ball during Saturday's match at Clark Fork.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Freshman Allyson Barton tries to block a hit by Clark Fork on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Sophomore Ethnee White tries to block a kill by Clark Fork's Caiya Yanik on Sept. 19.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Sophomore Abigail Shockey serves during a match at Clark Fork on Sept. 19.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
PRIEST RIVER — It was quite the opening week for Priest River volleyball. The Spartans played five matches in seven days.
It all started last Tuesday when Priest River kicked off the 2020 season with a three set home loss to Coeur d'Alene Charter. The following night, the Spartans headed to Post Falls JV and fell in straight sets.
On Thursday, Priest River picked its first victory of the season taking down Genesis Prep in three sets. Two days later, the Spartans traveled to Clark Fork and give a valiant effort, but lost in four sets, 25-22, 25-20, 20-25, 25-18.
"I think they played really well," first-year head coach Meagan Mize said after the match against Clark Fork. "We have a really young team so that's part of it. A lot of power in volleyball comes from the mental aspect and that just takes time and maturity."
The Spartans put a bow on their opening week Monday night with a home match against Intermountain League foe Timberlake. Priest River kept it close in the first two games, but the Tigers pulled away in the third to complete a sweep, 25-17, 25-23, 25-13.
"We beat ourselves again," Mize said after the match. "Timberlake was not a difficult team. I expected to go in and beat them tonight or at least take it to five games. They made more mistakes in the third game then the first two combined."
Senior Josie Booth led the team in kills with five and junior Ona Rose added two.
Currently, the Spartans have seven players available to play on varsity. Mize said this past week was crazy.
"I feel like we've played an entire season in less than a week," she joked.
Mize said she has seen improvement from her team each game and she believes the Spartans are capable of capturing the league title, they just need to be more vocal on the court.
"I believe in them 110 percent physically," she said. "They have what it takes to physically put it together and now we really need to work on creating the habits of bringing it together mentally. They need to develop the habit of communication."
Priest River (1-4, 0-2 IML) doesn't get much time off between matches. The Spartans travel to Kellogg at 7 p.m. Thursday and host Clark Fork at 6 p.m. Saturday.
