Lady Cats suffer first defeat

CLARK FORK — Wallace handed Clark Fork volleyball a three-set loss on its home court on Tuesday night.

The Miners won 25-23, 25-15, 25-14.

Head coach Michelle Valliere said her squad held their own in the opening set, but they let Wallace come back and earn the first set win. After that, the Lady Cats just couldn't find their footing.

"We kind of just fell apart a little bit after that," Valliere said. "The first game our passing was great and we were doing a great job passing their balls up ... but after that first game our serve-receive passing just kind of went out the door and that's kind of what killed us."

On Monday, Clark Fork practiced as a full team for the first time in over a week.

Valliere said this loss provides her team with a great opportunity to learn and grow.

"It was good to be able to play a team like that," she said. "It kind of puts you in your place a little bit and shows you that you can't beat everyone, that we got to step up a little bit more and work a little harder at practice."

Paige Valliere finished with 14 assists, Taylor Staley had five aces, Caiya Yanik recorded three blocks and Eloise Shelton led the team in digs. Staley, Yanik and Shelton each tallied four kills.

Clark Fork (5-1) opens North Star League play at 6 p.m. Thursday when they travel to Kootenai.