Seniors Lift Mead Over Nc, Into Prime Playoff Position

Seniors Alisha Simchuk and Andrea Carnahan, in their last home appearances, helped Mead clinch at least a tie for second place Tuesday in Greater Spokane League volleyball.

Simchuk had 13 kills and Carnahan 19 assists as the Panthers (12-3) topped North Central 15-4, 15-10, 7-15, 15-6.

Second place guarantees an opening-round bye at district and a berth into the regional tournament. If the league plays out to form, Mead, Rogers and Lewis and Clark would tie for second and force a three-way playoff Tuesday.

Lisa Hammond had 15 digs and Shannon Nelson 20 assists for defending State AAA champion NC (3-12), which must beat Central Valley (4-10) today to entertain hopes to advance as the sixth and final seed to district. An NC win could mean a three-way tie for sixth, with Shadle Park (4-11) added to the mix.

Rogers (11-4) dropped into a third-place tie with LC when it lost to champion Ferris 15-6, 15-8, 16-18, 15-7 at Rogers and LC outlasted visiting Gonzaga Prep 12-15, 15-7, 11-15, 15-6, 15-9.

Missy Blackshire had 18 kills and 10 aces for Ferris (15-0), which pulled away from a 6-all tie in the first game and 8-all in the second. Monica Abrahamson’s 12 kills, eight digs and eight blocks led Rogers.

Shannon Snow had four kills to lead a 9-0 fifth-game run, and Erin Naipo added six final-game kills in LC’s win over the Bullpups (7-7). Snow also led a 5-0 fourth-game run. G-Prep had 10 unanswered points to win the opener.

Sabrina Paige had 10 digs and Jessica Sackman 23 assists in CV’s 15-0, 15-13, 15-5 win at University, which finished 0-16. After tonight, CV still has a rescheduled match left with G-Prep, either Saturday or Monday.

First-place East Valley (9-0) shook off the doldrums to rally for a 16-14, 15-5, 15-17, 15-9 win at Colville and set up Thursday’s big match with second-place Pullman.

Colville (5-3) led the first game 10-1 before falling prey to errors. EV controlled the second game and led the third 10-1 before five kills by Paige Quistad led an Indians rally.

Leah Wilde’s three aces in the fourth game led Pullman (7-1) to a 15-6, 15-9, 12-15, 15-6 win over visiting Cheney (3-6). Pullman’s Kristen Scott had nine kills and eight digs; Liza Mustard had 14 kills and 20 assists for the Blackhawks.

Clarkston (5-4) eliminated host Riverside (0-10) from district contention with a 15-7, 15-8, 15-11 win. Riverside’s Meredith Thompson had six kills and four digs.

Two-time defending State B champion Wilbur-Creston (9-0) clinched at least a tie for the Bi-County League title - and a berth to district - with a 15-8, 15-7 win at Reardan.

Frontier girls soccer

The gap between the top four and the bottom four increased as the regular season winds down.

First-place West Valley topped visiting Colville 11-0; Deer Park/Riverside, tied for second place, won 8-0 at Medical Lake; EV, the other second-place team, scored a 3-0 road win at Pullman; and fourth-place Cheney beat visiting Clarkston 4-0.

Brooke Simpson, making her first start, scored twice, as did Angela Kallas, Gabby McClintock and Dawn Salfer as WV (10-3-1, 10-2-0, 30 points) beat Colville (2-10-0, 2-9-0, 6).

Jamie Rizzuto and Tracy Koesel had two goals and one assist apiece as DP/R (10-1-1, 9-1-1, 28) beat ML (2-11-1, 2-9-1, 7).

Sheila Hansen scored a pair of goals in the first 21 minutes as EV (10-3-1, 9-2-1, 28) stopped Pullman (3-6-2, 3-5-2, 11).

Kdee Anderson had two assists, and Jessie Fockler added one goal and one assist as Cheney (7-5-2, 7-3-2, 23) stopped Clarkston (0-11-1, 1).

Cross country

Wilbur-Creston’s Bryan Merchand (16 minutes, 46.8 seconds) and Sarah Harris (22:17.8) won Bi-County League championships at the 3-mile Bear Lake Park course.

Reardan’s boys won the team title. W-C had the lone complete girls team.

Chewelah’s boys and girls completed undefeated Northeast A League seasons with wins over Deer Park and host Lakeside at Nine Mile Falls Elementary.

All Class AA, A and B teams compete Oct. 30 at District 7 meets at Hangman Valley Golf Course.

, DataTimes