Sandpoint Shows Gsl Thing Or Two
Just in case Sandpoint High volleyball coach Jeff Hurst hasn’t made himself perfectly clear, his team did so for him Tuesday night.
Hurst’s Bulldogs handled defending Washington 4A champ Mead 15-11, 15-13, 15-9 in a non-league match pitting state champs that wasn’t as close as the scores would indicate.
Yes, seven players including four starters graduated from Sandpoint’s State A-1 champion team. Yes, three freshmen and five sophomores are on the Bulldogs’ roster.
But Sandpoint isn’t shooting for anything less than a repeat this season.
“It’s far from a rebuilding year,” Hurst said. “We have different personnel, we’re a different looking team. It’s not `It’ll take them a couple of years to get back on top.’ I don’t believe that. I believe we’re still on top and we’ll continue to be on top until some team comes along and beats us.”
In a second match against a Greater Spokane League team, Sandpoint downed Gonzaga Prep 15-2, 15-8, 9-15, 15-4 before a sparse crowd at Bulldog Gym.
Sandpoint seemingly picked up where it left off against GSL teams last year. The Bulldogs went 5-0 against the GSL with victories over Mead, Ferris, Shadle Park, G-Prep and Rogers.
The matches were season openers for the GSL teams. Sandpoint improved to 3-0 after opening Saturday with a victory over A-2 power St. Maries in a match that went five games.
The most glaring hitch in Sandpoint’s early play is closing out games. The Bulldogs opened commanding leads in all three games against Mead before finally stopping the Panthers.
Sandpoint opened a 14-8 advantage in the first game; it led 13-4 in the second; and was ahead 13-6 in the third.
It was the middle game where Sandpoint’s maturity was tested most. Mead, which returns eight lettermen and three starters, showed composure and scrappiness as the Panthers pulled within 14-13.
But Sandpoint thwarted Mead’s comeback on a stuff block by sophomore Katie Brown.
Senior setter/outside hitter Ro chelle Ruen and freshman Amy Dyck, who’s splitting setting and hitting duties with Ruen, led Sandpoint’s attack. Ruen had 14 kills, six in the final game, and Dyck had 12, nine coming in the second game.
What brought a smile to Hurst’s face was the play of Brown, junior middle hitter Ashley Hoogland and Ruen’s sister, Annie, a sophomore. They combined for 17 kills.
Mead couldn’t match Sandpoint’s balance. Kali Rumberger led the Panthers with seven kills.
“We’re a little disappointed,” Mead coach Judy Kight said. “We have a lot of work to do.”
Kight knows her team enters the season with big expectations placed upon it.
“We know everybody is going to bring out their `A’ game against us,” Kight said. “We’re hoping that will make us better faster.”
In other non-leaguers, Courtney Garcea had 25 digs and combined with Nicole Brouillard for 40 kills as Greater Spokane League threetime defending champion Ferris outlasted host Shadle Park 8-15, 15-5, 16-14, 13-15, 15-9. Shadle’s Katy Schrader and Stefanie Ferrette combined for 32 kills to help pick up the pace when starting middle hitter Ashley Bright left the match with a sprained ankle. Ferris won the middle game after being stuck at 14 through 12 sideouts… . Amy Oates had 14 kills and Shelly McCoy added seven digs to lead North Central to a 3-0 win over visiting University.