St. Maries romps to title

RATHDRUM - They took two different routes, but there's one destination for the St. Maries and Timberlake volleyball teams: the state 3A tournament.

The Lumberjacks will seek their second consecutive state title after rolling to the District 1 championship Saturday, sweeping Priest River in the semifinals and Kellogg in the finals at Lakeland High.

On the other hand, the Tigers waged two five-set battles with Kellogg and won the one that mattered most, eeking out a 15-13 Game 5 win in the runner-up match to qualify for state for the first time since 2005.

The 3A tournament is Friday and Saturday at Wendell High.

Championship match: The Lumberjacks (24-5) went undefeated in Intermountain League play and didn't lose a set Saturday, although coach Missy Asbury wasn't impressed with a sluggish 26-24 start against Priest River.

"We made some mental errors this morning - we've been fighting that all year," Asbury said. "This isn't an individual sport, it's a team sport and we have to win as a team. We did a good job of that in the championship."

The Lumberjacks closed out Priest River 25-16, 25-13, then never let Kellogg into the championship match, topping the Wildcats 25-14, 25-14, 25-8.

St. Maries' all-league performers led the way Saturday, with Marlee Masterson cranking out 16 kills in each match. The junior outside hitter added 15 digs against Priest River.

"Today, we said it's time for all our hard work to pay off," Masterson said.

Tia Asbury, the senior libero, led the back-row defense with 33 digs, including 18 in the finals against Kellogg.

"We set goals for ourselves at the beginning of the season, and one of them was to go to state," said Asbury, the MVP on the all-IML team.

Setter Jaylee Sines had 62 assists on the day, and middle hitter Mariah Gladden added 20 kills. Both were all-league selections for St. Maries.

Coach Asbury credited those four players, along with senior Stephani Brede and junior Abbey Anderson, for her team's strong play in the district finals.

"We're lucky - we have a young team, but we're going into (state) with a lot of players from last year," she said.

Second-place match: Timberlake lost its semifinal match with Kellogg after taking a 2-1 lead, and sure enough, in the runner-up match, the Tigers won two of the first three games again.

But this time, when Kellogg front-line players Britney Jacobs and Shayna Waechter blasted kills to force a fifth game, Timberlake (20-8) responded.

Strong serving by Brooke Murray and kills from Kelly Madsen and Jenny Munson staked the Tigers to a 10-5 advantage.

Timberlake's lead swelled to 14-8, but Kellogg senior Samantha Squires had an ace among five straight points to keep the Wildcats alive. As both teams scrambled on the final point, Kellogg was whistled for an illegal back-row hit, and the Tigers' celebration began.

"We've been working all year long on playing to win, and not playing not to lose," Timberlake coach Michelle Garwood said. "In Game 5, they wanted a taste of state, and it's a good thing we had that strong start."

Garwood praised Madsen, who blasted kills up the lines, cross court and off Wildcat players at key moments throughout the runner-up match. The all-league outside hitter had 18 kills and two aces against Kellogg.

"Since this summer, Kelly has wanted this moment," Garwood said. "She's been working hard in the gym, and she's been our rock all year."

Garwood also credited setters Murray and Halee Edelblute for their strong efforts, and noted the back-row prowess of libero Amanda Swanson - who also contributed two kills to her team's cause.

3A District 1 volleyball

Priest River d. Bonners Ferry 25-9, 25-15, 25-17 (loser out)

Kellogg d. Timberlake 25-16, 17-25, 20-25, 25-18, 15-8 (semifinal)

St. Maries d. Priest River 26-24, 25-16, 25-13 (semifinal)

Timberlake d. Priest River 25-21, 25-21, 25-13 (loser out)

St. Maries d. Kellogg 25-14, 25-14, 25-8 (championship)

Timberlake d. Kellogg 23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 21-25, 15-13 (runner-up)

ALL-INTERMOUNTAIN LEAGUE

ST. MARIES - Tia Asbury (MVP), Mariah Gladden, Jaylee Sines, Marlee Masterson. TIMBERLAKE - Brooke Murray, Kelly Madsen, Amanda Swanson. KELLOGG - Samantha Squires, Britney Jacobs, Shayna Waechter. PRIEST RIVER - Melissa Trost. BONNERS FERRY - Olivia Langs.

COACH OF THE YEAR - Missy Asbury, St. Maries