Sandpoint volleyball nearly takes a set from Lake City
SANDPOINT — Sandpoint volleyball nearly extended Tuesday's Inland Empire League match against Lake City to a fourth set.
Unfortunately, the Timberwolves used a late run and a pair of SHS errors down the stretch to complete a sweep of the Bulldogs, winning 25-18, 25-16, 25-22.
Tuesday's match was much more competitive than the first time these two teams met in Coeur d'Alene on Sept. 2 and Lake City won 25-8, 25-14, 25-13.
The Bulldogs made the 5A Timberwolves grind to escape Les Rogers Court with a victory. Head coach Karen Alsager said her team entered Tuesday's match with a goal of scoring 50 points, and they crushed it.
"We wanted to make sure we improved since the last time we played them and we did that," she said. "We were a little bit more disciplined tonight and I felt like we did a good job on the service line."
After dropping the first two sets, Sandpoint fell behind 10-5 in the third. But the Bulldogs mounted a comeback with an ace from Haley McAuliffe, an ace from Lauren Breuner, a kill from Saylor Bond and a block and kill from Livia Owens. They eventually took a 16-15 lead to force a Lake City timeout.
The Bulldogs had the momentum and a fourth set was in sight, however, the Timberwolves won four of the last five points to close out the match.
"I actually thought we would win that game and I haven't had that feeling much this year," Alsager said.
Tori Pelkey and Bond each finished with seven kills. Amaya Russell served three aces, Audrey Sheffler tallied 19 assists, Owens recorded four blocks and Emma Brown had a team-high 18 digs. Breuner added 16 digs.
The Bulldogs played without outside hitter Vivian Platte.
Alsager said her team took another step in the right direction.
"I felt like we played like a team tonight, so I am not disappointed," she said. "Lake City is not the team that stands in our way, we're preparing for Moscow and Lakeland and if Lake City can push us to get better, then that's a good thing."
Sandpoint (1-8, 0-4 IEL) heads to Coeur d'Alene at 7 p.m. Thursday looking to end a five-game losing streak.
