Experienced Sandpoint looks good

Sandpoint High volleyball coach Karen Alsager paused when asked to quantify the pressures of coaching.

Is there more pressure to get a program back to the state championship circle, or is there more pressure to remain at the top?

So Alsager pondered the question. Then she laughed before responding.

“As a coach, there’s pressure no matter what you’re trying to do,” Alsager said. “Anything less than a state title is really a disappointment for teams like mine.”

Alsager took over a tradition-rich program two years ago, and the Bulldogs stumbled in her first season, finishing with a school-worst two victories.

Sandpoint rebounded in spectacular fashion last year, capturing the State 4A championship. The Bulldogs went from worst to first seemingly overnight.

Sandpoint returns the core of the state-title team. So a repeat is a distinct possibility.

Of the six letterwinners Sandpoint returns, all six were starters last year. A couple shared spots with a pair of seniors who graduated.

Zoom the microscope a little closer and one will see that it will be sophomores who will carry the bulk of the load. Four of them shared starting positions as freshmen.

Koko James, a 5-foot-10 sophomore, is back at setter, and she will steer many balls to the left side of the net to 5-9 sophomore Piper Wahlin – the Inland Empire League’s newcomer of the year last season.

In all, the Bulldogs will carry six sophomores, the most of any class. They were part of a U-15 club team that took 13th at a national tournament in Minneapolis this summer.

“The girls are focused,” Alsager said. “They had a fantastic club season. They’ve got a state championship under their belt and they’re going forward.”

The club experience certainly means the Bulldogs should play older than their age. They’re not likely to face a team the caliber of the majority of teams they faced during the summer.

Which means Alsager will have to push the Bulldogs to perfection in practice.

“During the club season, they were used to pressure and playing against tall teams,” Alsager said. “I’ll try to provide as much stress as I can in practice. We’ll require high discipline and do drills that make them execute perfection. We’ll have to keep the standards high in practice.”

Sandpoint and Lake City finished as co-IEL champs this year. The Bulldogs are heavily favored to repeat. If they’re challenged, it could come from Coeur d’Alene or Moscow.

The Vikings are picked to be the top team among the four 5A league teams. CdA returns half its starting lineup, the most experience among the 5A teams.

Moscow showed last week that it might push Sandpoint. The Bears played host to Sandpoint in a league-opening match and took the Bulldogs to five games before Sandpoint left the Bear Den with a win.

“We didn’t expect Moscow to give us that big of a run this early in the season,” Alsager said.

Sandpoint travels to CdA tonight. The match could be an indicator whether the Bulldogs will be challenged in league.

“Coeur d’Alene was the only team that gave us some competition (at the jamboree),” Alsager said.

When it comes to her team, Alsager likes what she’s seen so far.

“I really like our athletic ability,” she said. “They’re light on their feet. They almost look at times like they’re dancing out there because they flow so well. We’re not tall by (any) means, but we’ve got good timing.”