Tigers Win In Marathon

To explain its position in the Greater Spokane League, Lewis and Clark’s volleyball team will take the fifth.

The Tigers took the fifth again on Tuesday, outlasting host Ferris 15-12, 15-13, 8-15, 10-15, 15-11 in a match between two of the four teams that entered the night tied for first place.

LC is 3-1 in five-game matches vs. GSL teams with winning records.

The latest marathon, LC’s first league win over Ferris since 1994, kept the Tigers (6-1) tied for first with Mead and Shadle Park. Ferris (5-2) will most likely have its streak of four consecutive league titles snapped.

The matches that should determine the league title are Thursday, with Shadle at Ferris, and Tuesday, with LC at Mead.

Senior Meghan Sanborn, a fouryear varsity player, led LC’s charge at Ferris with team highs of 21 kills, 15 digs and four blocks. Sanborn had two kills, a block and a service point to help LC bounce back from an 11-10, fifth-game deficit.

“When we were playing well, we were talking and having fun,” said Sanborn, whose aunt Jessica is a senior volleyball player at Michigan State. “When we started thinking we had to beat them, we’d freeze up. We got it back when we relaxed.”

“Sanborn is a very smart hitter,” said Ferris coach Stacey Ward. “She would set us up short and then dump it into the corner - and left-handed, too.”

Both teams had hot moments and just as many frustrating moments. LC won the first game without scoring a point on a kill. The Tigers had five of their 15 aces in the first game.

“If you get an ace or two a game, that’s great,” said LC coach Buzzie Welch. “If you serve tough enough, it makes the defense stretch.”

Charise Weatherbee and Courtney Garcea each had two kills to allow the Saxons to tie the second game at 13 after trailing 13-6. The rally ended there. A Ferris mistake gave LC its 14th point, and Karlee Kuhlmann ended the game with a kill.

LC had its eyes on a sweep when it led the third game 7-4. Summer Cekinovich turned the game around with power at the net, helping Ferris score the final nine points.

The Tigers gave up six consecutive points after leading the final game 6-1. A pair of aces by Stefanie Yep put the Tigers back ahead, 10-8. Emily Querna served four consecutive points after Ferris edged ahead 11-10.

“Overall, that match could have gone either way, and we know it,” Welch said. “How long can you live on the edge like that?”

“We’ve been on the roller coaster: We’re up, we’re down, we’re up, we’re down,” Ward said. “But at least we battled back.”

Also in the GSL, North Central (4-3) won its fourth consecutive match with an 8-15, 15-13, 15-13, 15-5 rally past visiting East Valley (2-5). Amy Oates had 18 kills, including a big one to tie the third game at 13. NC tied idle Mt. Spokane for sixth place, the final spot that will earn a district berth. The teams will meet Thursday at NC… . Keva Sonderen had 10 kills to lead fifth-place Gonzaga Prep (6-3) to a 3-0 sweep of visiting University (1-7). … Whitney Murphy had 11 digs and Kali Rumberger added eight kills to guide Mead to a 3-1 win at Central Valley. CV (1-7) won the second game 15-11 after breaking to an 11-4 lead… . Sheila Bieber served four consecutive third-game points for a 10-9 lead, and Shadle polished off host Rogers 3-0. Stefanie Ferrette and Katy Schrader had nine kills for Shadle, as did Hillary Kaesemeyer of the Pirates (0-8).

Sandpoint remained unbeaten in the Border League, ending West Valley’s (3-4) three-match winning streak. Rochelle Ruen had 10 assists, seven digs and six aces for the Bulldogs (8-0)… . Also in the league, Rachel Mogen had 10 kills as Lake City (3-5) stopped visiting Post Falls (3-5) 15-10, 15-11. The Timberwolves were down 11-3 in the second game, but stormed back as Mogen had three blocks and three kills… . Tarah McAllister had 37 digs as Lewiston (3-6) outlasted visiting Coeur d’Alene (2-6) 15-8, 9-15, 15-12.

Lakeside moved a full game ahead of Newport in the Great Northern League with a 15-4, 15-5, 15-4 win over Riverside (1-6). Jen Barcus had 16 kills and three blocks for the Eagles (8-0). Katie Tikker contributed 12 kills. Shannon Bruner led the Rams in five categories.

Eisenhower (8-3) defeated visiting Moses Lake 15-5, 15-13, 15-0 to drop the Chiefs to 3-8 in the Big Nine Conference.

Girls soccer

Amanda Cravens scored inside the first 6 minutes and Sandpoint (11-4-1, 7-1-1) held on to edge visiting Cheney (7-3-1, 6-2-1) 1-0 to break a third-place tie in the Border League. Cravens made a turn and shot to the far post… . Also in the league, Heidi Oakes scored three goals and Carrie Keller made 13 saves as Lewiston (7-7-1, 5-4) blanked Lakeland (3-9, 2-8) 3-0… . Erica Hauck and Jamison Link had three goals each and Raeanne Capaul had five assists as Coeur d’Alene (11-2-3, 6-0-3) coasted to a 10-0 win over visiting Colville (3-9-1, 1-8) … Moscow (10-6, 4-4) shut out visiting Clarkston (0-9, 0-8) 7-0.

In the GNL, Jenny Svennungsen had a goal and an assist as Riverside (8-3, 6-2) won 3-0 at Medical Lake (3-8-1, 1-7)… . Sara Sheridan scored three goals and Pullman (7-3-2, 6-1) launched 42 shots during a 4-0 win at Chewelah (3-7, 1-6).

Boys cross country

Andy Prentice toured Chewelah’s 3.1-mile course in 17 minutes, 24 seconds to win by 16 seconds as Lakeside (4-0) remained in the GNL lead with a 23-35 win over the Cougars (1-4)… . Riverside (3-1) remained tied for second as Noah Hassler ran to a 27-second win over the 5,000-meter Bear Lake County Park course. The Rams topped Newport (2-3) 21-34… . Pullman improved to 4-1 by sweeping Deer Park and Medical Lake by identical 16-39 scores. The Greyhounds swept the first four spots with Brett Udy winning in 17:43 over the 5,000-meter course and Dusty Wisniew and Alex Perino posting matching second times of 18:18. ML (2-2) topped Deer Park (0-5) 22-33.

Girls cross country

Lakeside improved to 4-0 in the GNL with a 22-33 win at Chewelah (0-4). Katie Blackwell of Lakeside won the race by 34 seconds, finishing in 21:12… . Riverside stayed tied with Lakeside as Katie Pritchard led the Rams to a 15-50 win at Newport (0-4)… . Pullman (2-2) handed Medical Lake (2-1) its first loss with an 18-36 win. Lily Lee was the individual winner in 21:39.