Bulldog volleyball shakes off slow start to end losing streak
Sophomore Audrey Sheffler sets the ball for a teammate on Saturday at Les Rogers Court.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Amaya Russell gets a dig on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Audrey Sheffler tries to tip the ball over the net on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Hailey Roeder rises up for a kill on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Lauren Breuner gets a dig on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Amaya Russell serves on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Livia Owens elevates for a kill on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Tori Pelkey serves on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Vivian Platte rises up for a kill on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Aubree Lane serves in 2021. Lane spent time on the junior varsity squad last season but should make some noise in 2022.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
SANDPOINT — Sandpoint volleyball got back in the win column on Saturday at Les Rogers Court.
After starting slow and dropping the first set, the Bulldogs picked up their play and won three straight sets to down Bonners Ferry, 20-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-16.
The victory ended a six-game losing streak for the Bulldogs.
"It was nice to see the number 25 again," head coach Karen Alsager said, "it had been awhile."
In the opening set, the Badgers won six of the last seven points to take the victory. Then the Bulldogs came out in the second set with a little extra motivation, and it made all the difference.
"It's Homecoming and I think that they thought we're going to be here for five games if we don't pick this up a little bit," Alsager said. "I mean really, we could have been here for another hour."
Sandpoint grabbed its first lead in the second set at 15-14 with a kill from Vivian Platte and four points later Bonners Ferry called a timeout to regroup. However, the break didn't help as the Bulldogs kept rolling. Audrey Sheffler served an ace to give SHS its first set victory since Aug. 31.
Sandpoint had the momentum and they weren't going to let the Badgers slow them down. The two teams went back and forth in the third set, but the Bulldogs won the last three points to go up 2-1. Lauren Breuner finished off the set with a kill.
The Bulldogs dominated the fourth set to secure their second win of the season.
The team was without senior libero Emma Brown, which forced Alsager to bring up a pair of junior varsity players — sophomores Aubree Lane and Haley Hustead-Swaim.
"They did fantastic," Alsager said.
Sheffler finished with 26 assists, 15 digs and four aces. Tori Pelkey and Livia Owens each had two blocks, and Hustead-Swaim and Haley McAuliffe both served three aces. Breuner had a team-high nine kills, and Platte added six.
"Hailey Roeder also came in with some spitfire today," Alsager said.
Alsager said the victory was nice, but her team still needs to work on being more consistent.
"I hope [the win] helps," she said about the Bulldogs' confidence. "We'll see what happens next week. I hope they can carry that over."
Sandpoint (2-9, 0-4 Inland Empire League) hosts Lewiston at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
