St. Maries, Preston In Semi-Showdown

The past is simply that if you talk to Preston coach Launa Moser or St. Maries coach Mitch Santos.

Both teams survived shaky quarterfinal matches at the State A-2 volleyball tournament Friday evening at Lake City High School.

The state champion has resided in either city since 1981, including Preston in 1994, and one of those teams will have the inside track on the 1995 title following today’s semifinal at 1 p.m.

The Indians slipped past Snake River with a 15-12, 13-15, 15-11 victory in the early quarterfinal.

St. Maries, meanwhile, clawed its way to a 15-9, 1-15, 15-10 decision over Shelley in the late winner’s match.

That sets up an all-too-familiar semifinal featuring the Indians (31-13) and Lumberjacks (24-4).

“This is a really good win,” St. Maries senior middle hitter Amanda Tams said. “It puts us right where we want to be. Last year (Preston) beat us for the state championship, you always want to play them again.

“This win today really helped us out. We’ve got to come out fired up.”

The semifinal winner moves into tonight’s championship match at 6:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals

Both quarterfinal matches couldn’t get over soon enough for Preston and St. Maries.

“They’re playing not to lose, instead of to win,” Moser said of the Indians who wasted an 11-0 lead in the third game against the Panthers. “They’re playing too safe. They shut down and got a little panicky.”

It was the fifth meeting of the season between Preston and Snake River (25-14).

The Indians and Panthers played even in the first two games.

Preston picked up the win in the opener after senior Rose Jensen killed for game-point.

Senior Hillarie Hone sparked Snake River in the second game with seven kills. Consecutive aces clinched the win.

Hone rallied the Panthers in the third game. She killed for a sideout, then served two aces to pull Snake River to within 12-6. A kill by sophomore outside hitter Jan Bair made it 12-7, before senior Wendy Fueler forced a Preston sideout with a backcourt kill.

Fueler followed with two more kills which left the Indians ahead 14-7.

But Preston needed seven more sideouts before it could muster match-point.

Shelley (24-3) was every bit as upset-minded as the Panthers had been.

St. Maries forged an 8-0 lead in the opening game, as Tams had six kills and Kim Reid had three aces.

But in the second game the Russets took a 10-0 lead. Shelley scored nine points off unforced St. Maries errors, and added four off service aces.

The Lumberjacks spotted Shelley a 10-5 lead in the third game, as 5-foot-11 sophomore Melissa Jensen and 5-8 senior Lindsay Jensen controlled the net for the Russets.

An ace by senior Angie Epler drew St. Maries even at 10. Another ace by Epler following a Shelley timeout put the Lumberjacks in front for good.

“When they got to 10-5, we were hitting kinda timid and not hitting the angles,” Tams explained. “We just got really excited and the hitters started finding the angles.”

“That’s a huge win for this team,” St. Maries coach Mitch Santos added. “I had a feeling we could win. It’s a momentum game, 10-5 means nothing - even at 8-0 (in the first game) we didn’t have anything in the bag.”

First-round matches

Snake River d. Emmett 5-15, 15-6, 15-10

Panthers coach Shauna Matthews gets a lot of complaints from her team for doing too many serving drills. But all that practice pushed Snake River into the winner’s bracket. The Panthers served 13 aces, including 11 in the final two games.

Emmett made short work of Snake River in the first game, as junior Lizzie Stoeger served seven straight points for a 12-5 lead.

Panthers sophomore outside hitter Jan Bair picked the Huskies back row apart with four consecutive aces in a 6-0 run to start the second game.

Emmett rallied from an 11-2 deficit in the third game before losing.

Snake River served 13 aces, including five by Bair who also had seven kills.

Preston d. Lakeland 15-2, 15-12

There were just seven sideouts in the opener, as Indians senior Rose Jensen rolled with the initial serve of the match. Jensen served four aces in a 13-0 run.

The Hawks played the defending state champs even in the second game, which featured six lead changes and three ties.

“They kept us guessing defensively,” Lakeland coach Claudia Collins said. “They mix it up real well. We just handed that first game to them; we were playing the hostesses (role).”

Shelley d. Wood River 9-15, 15-8, 15-12

The Russets squandered an 11-1 lead in the third game, but still won.

“Sometimes you lose a little focus,” Shelley coach Judy Smith said. “You have to let them know they have the game in control, and they need to go out and execute.”

St. Maries d. Weiser 15-9, 15-7

Sophomore Bridgette O’Dwyer came off the bench for 10 kills to boost the Lumberjacks.

The serving of St. Maries senior Devon Hammes and net play of Tams closed each game.

Hammes served for game-point in the opener, won off a Tams’ block.

St. Maries led 10-7 when Hammes reeled off five straight points, including a block by Tams. Back-to-back Tams’ kills ended the match.

Loser-out matches

Lakeland and Wood River were the first teams to bow out of the tournament.

Emmett (19-5) sent the Hawks (12-14) packing, 15-11, 15-13. Weiser (17-5) stayed alive with a 15-7, 6-15, 15-11 win over the Wolverines (31-10).

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: A-2 CHAMPIONSHIPS Results and schedule for the State A-2 Volleyball Tournament at Lake City High School: Friday’s A-2 results First round Snake River d. Emmett 5-15, 15-6, 15-10 Preston d. Lakeland 15-2, 15-12 Shelley d. Wood River 9-15, 15-8, 15-12 St. Maries d. Weiser 15-9. 15-7 Second round Preston d. Snake River 15-12, 13-15, 15-11 Emmett d. Lakeland 15-11, 15-13 (loser out) St. Maries d. Shelley 15-9, 1-15, 15-10 Weiser d. Wood River 15-7, 6-15, 15-11 (loser out)

Today’s A-2 schedule Consolation matches (loser out): Emmett (19-5) vs. Shelley (24-3), 10 a.m.; Snake River (25-14) vs. Weiser (17-5), 11:30. Championship semifinal: Preston (31-13) vs. St. Maries (24-4), 1 p.m. Third-pace match, 5 p.m. Championship match, 6:30 p.m.