LC presses past Shadle

Maybe it was the storied rivalry between teams with successful histories that brought out the best in Lewis and Clark and Shadle Park’s volleyball teams.

Certainly, in the opinion of LC coach Julie Yearout, the match brought out the eye of the Tigers in their 25-16, 29-27, 25-19 victory at LC’s Hunter Fieldhouse that kept them in second place behind Mead in the Greater Spokane League.

“We played well,” said Yearout. “We haven’t really played with that fire yet this year, so it was nice to see.”

LC came out blazing with a four-pronged attack and libero-fueled defense to put the Highlanders on their heels.

Fourth-year player Ivy Bush was superb all night. She attacked from all angles, mixing her shots for 19 kills, and played equally well in the back row.

She got ample help at the net from 5-foot-11 junior middles Janae Forney and Hannah Zimmerman and 5-5 senior outside hitter Arianne Jackson, who combined for 24 kills.

Forney and Zimmerman also countered some ferocious attacks with 10 and six blocks, respectively, at the net.

Libero Danielle Porter was the equal of Bush in the back row, registering 21 digs.

“That’s a lot of double digits,” said Yearout.

To their credit, the Highlanders hung tough in the contest by matching thunderous hits with remarkable blocks, particularly by Brynn Delong, to give the crowd its money’s worth.

“It was a pretty big defensive battle,” said Shadle coach Brooke Cooper. “They were scrappy and touched everything, I thought. There were not too many (hits) that just went down.”

LC ripped off the first six points of the first game before Shadle called timeout and got back into it. But the Tigers scored eight straight points for an 18-7 lead, and the Highlanders could come no closer than 23-16.

Bush had seven kills and Zimmerman four kills and a block for points in the game.

The second game was back-and-forth play and needed extra points to decide. Shadle broke a 12-12 tie to lead 19-15, with Delong getting five of her team-high nine kills for the night and two blocks for points.

But Bush, who had seven more kills, and Forney, with five, brought the team back to a 22-20 advantage.

Shadle then fought off game point four successive times before Bush ended it with successive kills.

“That was pretty dang good,” said Cooper.

The Highlanders led 14-8 in the third game, but with Bush serving two aces, LC ran off eight straight points to regain control and finished with a 17-5 run. Bush and Zimmerman ended the match with three kills apiece.

“When we were down we had to pick it up and work on our passing,” said Bush, a 5-5 powerhouse. “When our passing was on, we were on.”

Yearout was pleased with the enthusiasm that had been lacking, despite LC’s 8-1 record, all of them straight-set matches.

“I don’t know, it just seemed they played harder. Tonight it seemed like when it got close they weren’t going to lay down and let somebody take it,” said Yearout. “And our blocking was great. That kind of sets the tone, too, when they have trouble doing what they wanted to do. It was nice to see.”

Shadle (6-3) is in a four-way tie for fourth place heading into Thursday’s match with Ferris (6-3).

Elsewhere, Mead (9-0) swept Clarkston (0-9) at home 25-9, 25-11, 25-11. Megan Thigpen scored nine straight points, six on jump serves, in the first game, and Mara Ryan hit 100 percent in the first and second games. … Third-place Mt. Spokane (7-2) beat North Central (3-6) at home 25-12, 25-21, 25-21, led by Lauren Schneidmiller with eight kills, 10 service aces and 10 digs. Whitney Buck had 18 assists, two aces and seven blocks for NC. … Ferris was forced to five games at East Valley, winning 25-23, 25-17, 15-25, 17-25, 15-10. Maddy Lorenz had 11 kills, three blocks and 18 digs, while Jessica Bates had 19 digs and three service aces. Stephanie Bellefeuille had 43 assists and three aces for the Knights (3-6), and Rachel Bonertz had 15 kills and nine digs. It was the second time EV has taken a 4A playoff contender to five games this season. … Gonzaga Prep took four games to beat stubborn visitor West Valley (3-6) 25-20, 25-19, 21-25, 25-14. Leslie Whitgam had 10 kills and Kayla Rekofke nine. Libero Chrissy Topliff had 26 digs. Mel Dossey had six kills and 15 digs for the Eagles. … University (6-3) won 25-15, 25-9, 25-12 at Cheney (1-8). Ashlee Lupfer had nine kills, 15 digs and five service aces, while Kara Crisp had 26 assists and five aces. … Central Valley (5-4) beat Rogers (0-9) 25-20, 25-11, 25-21 at home. Selena Leavitt led CV in kills, and Kristen Coghill had 12 digs. Candace Curley led the Pirates in kills, digs and blocks.