Lc Beats Cda, Faces Lewiston

Lake City High volleyball coach Kent Scanlon knew something was out of alignment after the first game in the A-1 Division I Region I tourney opener Tuesday.

Not that he was surprised by his third-seeded Timberwolves’ 15-3 win over No. 2 Coeur d’Alene.

“I knew the first game was an aberration,” Scanlon said. “Then we jumped out in the lead in the second game and I kept telling myself: `Maybe we’re going to get the breaks.’ But in the back of my mind, I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy.”

Scanlon was right. Although the finish probably shouldn’t have been as difficult, Lake City fought off a late Vikings rally, 15-12, for the two-game sweep.

LC (11-12) travels to top-seeded Lewiston (6-10) tonight to decide the regional championship. The winner advances to state.

The title-match loser takes on CdA (7-19) in a loser-out match Thursday at the site of the highest-remaining seed. That winner advances to a cross-district playoff Saturday at Grangeville to decide another state berth.

It was a reversal of fortunes for Lake City. CdA defeated the T-Wolves 15-13, 11-15, 15-13 in the lone regular-season match between the teams five days ago.

The Viks offered little resistance in the first game in a match that was long on drama but short on crisp execution.

CdA coach Bret Taylor used both of his timeouts in the first 11 points, but couldn’t turn the momentum as his team trailed 11-3. With Jessie Symbal lobbing some tough short serves, LC reeled off the final seven points.

The second game started like the first. LC zipped to a 6-0 lead and extended it to 10-1 behind the front-row work of middle hitters Rachel Mogen and Lindsey Tuntland.

CdA started to show life as it cut the lead in half at 10-5. But LC moved within match point at 14-5 behind a kill by Keri Libera and three consecutive Vik errors.

It appeared LC won when a kill by CdA sailed long. But as the T-Wolves were celebrating, the referees ruled the ball was touched by a T-Wolf at the net.

Talk about a sudden swing in momentum.

“The key play was the touch (at 14-5),” Scanlon said. “I never saw it, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. That should have been the match. But a credit to Coeur d’Alene for getting their confidence back because we had them right where we wanted them.”

The Viks fought off seven match-point situations to pull within 14-12. On the ninth attempt, a kill by Tuntland ended the match.

“We were anxious,” Tuntland said. “A lot of it had to do with we were so excited from the first (game) that we just really needed to calm down and just focus on the second game.”

Mogen and Tuntland led LC with 12 and seven kills, respectively. Each also had three blocks.

Taylor knows the road to state has become longer, but not impossible.

“I’m proud of the girls for fighting back, but the thing I’m most disappointed in is we didn’t bring that intensity into the game,” Taylor said. “I’ve got to compliment Kent. He had his team pumped up and they were ready to play. They went after us and put some pressure on us right off the bat.”

LC will be looking for redemption against Lewiston. The Bengals knocked off the T-Wolves 15-10, 15-4 at LC in late September.

“The girls were uninspired,” Scanlon said of the match against the Bengals. “It wasn’t a true test. We feel we’re a lot better at this point.”

In the A-1 Division II tourney opener, No. 2 seed Moscow topped No. 3 Post Falls 15-11, 15-5 at Moscow.

Moscow (14-4) goes to top-seeded and defending state champ Sandpoint (19-3) in the regional title match tonight at 6:30. The winner advances to state.

Post Falls (14-11) will meet the loser of the title match Thursday in a loser-out match at the site of the highest-remaining seed. That winner will advance to a cross-district play Saturday at Grangeville to decide another state berth.

Megan Kane and Laura Adamchak led the Trojans with eight kills each.

Wallace kept its state tourney hopes alive by defeating Kamiah in an A-3 District I-II tournament loser-out match at Lewiston.

Wallace (18-9) will take on Orofino in a loser-out match Thursday. The winner will take on Grangeville with a state berth on the line.

Prairie defeated Grangeville 15-12, 14-16, 15-11 in the district title match Tuesday.

Orofino, which topped Lapwai in the other loser-out match, defeated Wallace in first-round play on Saturday.

If Wallace wins its first match Thursday, it will guarantee itself of at least a shot at a state berth. The loser of the second loser-out match Thursday will meet the District III third-place finisher in a playoff for a state berth Saturday.

Mullan secured the third seed to the district tourney with a 15-10, 15-8 win over Falls Christian in a North Star League finale at FCA.

Mullan (7-9, 2-4) will meet No. 2 Kootenai (12-12) in the first round of the A-4 District I tourney Saturday at Kootenai while No. 4 FCA (2-12, 0-6) will take on league champ and top seed Clark Fork (24-1).

The top two teams go to state.