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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

St. Maries second in state volleyball

Diane Philbin

St. Maries’ bid for a repeat 3A State championship came up short Saturday as the Lumberjacks suffered a four-set setback against the Snake River Panthers in the championship match, 17-25, 26-24, 25-22, 26-24 at Wendell.

“We seemed to have a lot of confusion on the floor at times and we lost some intensity,” St. Maries coach Missy Asbury said. “We have a little inexperience in a couple of positions. The girls started to get scared and were making some mistakes they don’t usually make.”

Jaylee Sines went to the service line in the fourth game with her St. Maries team trailing 24-20 and on the brink of the set and match being over. The junior setter put her team back in the match at 24-24 with four good serves, winning hits by teammates Mariah Gladden and Lakin Anxo, and a Panthers error. The rally came up short with a Snake River hit off the Lumberjacks defense and a St. Maries attempt out of bounds.

“I felt a lot of pressure, but I really tried to act like there wasn’t any,” said Sines, who dished out 37 assists.

Junior Marlee Masterson led the Lumberjacks with 22 kills and had a team-best 16 digs and two blocks. Gladden posted 11 kills, six blocks and two aces.

St. Maries has had a long tradition with its volleyball program.

“It makes you feel you have big shoes to fill, but you want to do that,” Asbury said.

Bear Lake 3, Timberlake 2: The Bears rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win the fourth and fifth sets 26-24, 15-12, knocking off the Tigers in the consolation championship match in Wendell.

Idaho State 4A

Post Falls 3, Lewiston 2: Ashley Jibby tallied 12 kills and 18 digs and Tori Bertsch added 20 assists as the Trojans edged the Bengals in the consolation championship match in Twin Falls. After trading wins in the first four sets, the Trojans took the fifth 15-13 to clinch the win.