Coeur D’Alene Sends Lake City Reeling In 15-8, 15-9 Volleyball Win

The Lake City volleyball team went into Tuesday’s match against Coeur d’Alene with a chance to sweep its two-match series with the Vikings and take sole possession of second place in the Inland Empire League.

What it got was a look at a fired-up CdA squad that had the Timberwolves playing on their heels much of the night on the way to a 15-8, 15-9 victory at Viking Gym.

Lake City also got a huge, unwanted dose of CdA’s Angie Shirley. Recovering from a hairline fracture in her right wrist, the 6-1 junior hammered down seven kills and consistently bothered the T-Wolves at the net.

And although Shirley said the wrist didn’t bother her during the match, it surely must after the workout she gave it against Lake City.

Both teams had trouble getting on track in the first game, and the score remained tied 1-1 for an extended time.

But after a tip by Kim Towery gave the Viks a sideout, Shirley took over, sparking CdA with a tip and two consecutive kills to gain a 4-1 lead.

After Lake City crept within 4-3, the Viks rattled off seven points, two coming off kills by junior Jessica Janke.

Although the serve changed hands many times after that, the T-Wolves would never get closer than 12-8, and a kill by Towery that hit the back line ended the first game and gave the Viks the momentum.

“We needed this win,” Shirley said. “We pushed hard and we played smart. We knew we were going to win.”

Said CdA coach Karla Mitchell: “We did a great job with the ball in the first game. We were passing so well, we just kept pounding the ball at them.”

The second game featured five ties and great defensive play.

Down 9-7, the Viks capitalized on a Lake City unforced error, regained the serve and went to work.

Behind the play of seniors Kylee Stolp and Kim Pearson, CdA went on an 8-0 run to pull away. Stolp had two kills and Pearson two stuff blocks during that run.

“This was a big one for us,” Mitchell said of her Viks (3-2 IEL, 8-9). “We’ve improved a lot and we’re a lot more confident. We’re getting there.”

The coach had special praise for Shirley.

“We’ve been missing her,” Mitchell said. “She hasn’t been playing her best because of her wrist, but she was the difference tonight.”

Lake City coach Kent Scanlon, who saw his team drop to 2-3 in the IEL and 7-8 overall, was disappointed with the effort of his team.

“We didn’t give them any contest,” he said. “It was such a lackluster effort. We took a step back tonight. CdA was lucky they were on the court on a night we decided to give a match away.”

In addition to Shirley’s seven kills, Janke added six kills for the Viks and Towery had 12 assists.

Senior Natalie Telford had seven kills for the T-Wolves.

In the night’s other IEL match, Sandpoint (5-0, 12-0) retained its two-game grip on first place with a 15-10, 15-8 win at Post Falls.

Rachel Edmonds had five aces and four blocks, and Heidi Umthun four kills for the Trojans (0-5, 5-13).

Amy Lemm had nine kills, seven assists and four digs to lead host Moscow (3-6, 4-9) to a 15-11, 15-4 Intermountain League win over Kellogg (3-4, 5-7).

Andrea Thomas added 10 assists, four digs and two aces for the Bears, who started the year 0-8 and lost their first six league games.

Lakeland (2-5, 6-9) also tightened up the middle of the pack by tripping up visiting Bonners Ferry 13-15, 15-13, 15-8 at Rathdrum.

Jenni Borg had 11 kills, Cora Christensen six blocks and Cassie Beyer 17 assists for the Hawks. Tammy Blanford had four aces and five digs, and Eanna Aaron nine kills for the Badgers (3-5, 5-7).

Hailey Schofield had seven kills as fast-starting Clark Fork (5-1, 11-4) defeated visiting Lakeside 15-1, 15-13 and tied Falls Christian for first place in the North Star League.

The Wampus Cats jumped to a 6-0 lead in the first game and 12-1 in the second. After the Knights (0-6, 0-18) rebounded in the second game, Sasha Storaasli served the final four points.

At Mullan, Tiahna Stinehart served 8 for 8 and the host Tigers (3-2, 8-7) rebounded from a 9-0 first-game deficit to beat Kootenai 15-12, 15-5. The Warriors are 1-4, 5-13.

Joy Sperry’s 11 kills, five aces and three blocks led Wallace (16-5) to a 15-10, 15-7 non-league win over visiting Falls Christian (11-10).

Jonni Hill added 12-for-12 serving and Dana Streeter five kills for the A-3 independent Miners. Jaylean Reasor had 10 assists, Audrey Wallace six kills and Sarah Peterson two aces for the Eagles.