St. Maries' repeat bid foiled by Snake River

WENDELL - The St. Maries Lumberjacks came up short in their bid for a second straight state 3A championship, falling to Snake River 17-25, 26-24, 25-22, 26-24 at Wendell High on Saturday night.

"We got up 14-2 in the first game and started making mental mistakes," St. Maries coach Tia Asbury said. "We kept letting them back into the game and they came out in the second game. We handed them a few points. Snake River was a tough team."

Junior Marlee Masterson had 22 kills and 16 digs for St. Maries in the championship match.

"We made a few mental errors, but never gave up," Masterson said. "I just started going all out for it. We had nothing to lose. All the girls played well this season."

Jaylee Sines had 37 assists, Mariah Gladden had 11 kills, six blocks and two aces and Tia Asbury 21 digs in the championship match for St. Maries, who finish the season 26-6.

“Both teams were pretty young,” Asbury said. “When we started to make some mistakes, it started to take a toll on some of the players. All year, we’d been battling with teams and coming from 6-7 points down, but you can’t do that against a good team like Snake River.”

St. Maries trailed 24-19 in the fourth set before Sines served five straight points to even the game at 24-24.

“We never let down,” Asbury said. “We fought until the end. Our serve receive hurt us a bit and our passes weren’t on. The options weren’t there because we had to use Marlee in the back row a lot. We got stuck in a couple of rotations and started overfeeding the ball. I thought we played well throughout the tournament. It was kind of a shell-shock for us. We went four games with Bear Lake, which was good for our girls, but it said a lot about the competition down here.”

Snake River won its first state volleyball title since 1976 — the first year the Idaho High School Activities Association sponsored the tournament. St. Maries was trying for its 13th state title all time.

In earlier action, St. Maries advanced to the championship game with a 25-16, 25-19, 25-16 win over the Fruitland Grizzlies in a semifinal match.

Sines had 29 assists, Masterson 16 kills, Lakin Anxo eight kills and 11 digs for St. Maries.

“Jaylee had a really good game against Fruitland,” Asbury said. “She did a great job of keeping them guessing where the ball was going.”

Post Falls claims first state trophy since 1991

TWIN FALLS — Junior Ashley Jibby had 18 digs and 12 kills as the Trojans defeated the Lewiston Bengals 25-18, 22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13 to earn the school’s first trophy since 1991 at the state 5A tournament at Canyon Ridge High.

“We’re really excited to bring home some hardware,” Post Falls coach Willow Hanna said. “The girls showed a lot of heart to push back in the fifth game. I think the match with Lewiston was a good one. We had to work through some things and had to decide whether to let down or push back and take the match. We got into the hardware this year and we’re happy to bring something back for our city, school and program.”

Tori Bertsch had 20 assists and four aces and Allison Meehan had two blocks for Post Falls, which finished 28-7.

“It’s really impressive for us to bring back a trophy,” Jibby said. “We’ve got a young team and it look a lot to come back from our first loss on Friday. We showed a lot of strength coming back to win the consolation bracket. I’m proud to bring back some medals from the tournament.”

Post Falls tied for fifth last year in its first trip to state since ’91.

“Ultimately, we took a really young team down to state,” Hanna said. “We had some first-game jitters and didn’t get the chance to fight for a championship. I think we had a really good trip. It was good for the girls to go down and be a part of a learning experience.”

Timberlake loses, finishes sixth in 3A

WENDELL — Brooke Murray had 31 assists, 12 digs and 10 kills for Timberlake in a 22-25, 25-22, 24-26, 26-24, 15-12 loss to Bear Lake to finish sixth in the state 3A tournament at Wendell High.

“I thought we played well,” Timberlake coach Michelle Garwood said. “Bear Lake is a good team. We stuck in there and fought with them, but we let them get too many points. I’m overall pleased with the effort today. It was a fun match to watch.”

Kelly Madsen had 21 digs, 16 kills and five aces, Amanda Swanson 29 digs and Jen Munson 14 kills for Timberlake, which finishes the season 21-10 and qualified for state for the first time since 2005.

Timberlake went 1-2 in the tournament, which switched from a double-elimination to a single-elimination for the championship with a consolation bracket.

“I don’t like the new format,” Garwood said. “There’s no chance to play around if you lose your first game. In a matchup between Fruitland and Kimberly, they’re both No. 1 seeds and one of them will drop down. It’s not fair because you may not get the best two teams into the championship. This year, the best two are playing, but once you drop down, a lot of those girls that have dreams of a top-three placing are finished.”

Times PDT

At Canyon Ridge High, Twin Falls

Saturday

Post Falls d. Lewiston 25-18, 22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13, fourth and sixth places

Idaho Falls d. Boise, semifinal

Rocky Mountain d. Centennial 25-18, 25-19, 25-9, semifinal

Boise d. Centennial 25-20, 18-25, 25-22, 26-24, third and fifth places

Rocky Mountain d. Idaho Falls 25-18, 25-18, 25-22, championship

At Kimberly High

Saturday

Twin Falls d. Jerome 27-25, 25-17, 25-17, fourth and sixth places

Rigby d. Bishop Kelly, semifinal

Century d. Middleton 25-12, 25-17, 25-14, semifinal

Middleton d. Bishop Kelly 15-25, 25-15, 16-25, 29-27, 19-17, third and fifth places

Century d. Rigby 25-15, 25-20, 25-17, championship

At Wendell High

Saturday

Bear Lake d. Timberlake 22-25, 25-22, 24-26, 26-24, 15-12, fourth and sixth places

Snake River d. South Fremont 25-27, 25-22, 25-11, 25-9, semifinal

St. Maries d. Fruitland 25-16, 25-19, 25-16, semifinal

South Fremont d. Fruitland 25-19, 25-16, 25-23, third and fifth places

Snake River d. St. Maries 17-25, 26-24, 25-22, 26-24, championship

At Buhl High

Saturday

Nampa Christian d. Gooding 20-25, 25-17, 25-18, 24-26, 15-13, fourth and sixth places

West Jefferson d. Ririe 21-25, 9-25, 29-27, 25-22, 10-15, semifinal

Cole Valley Christian d. West Side, semifinal

Ririe d. West Side 25-23, 25-18, 25-21, third and fifth places

West Jefferson d. Cole Valley Christian 25-20, 21-25, 25-22, 20-25, 16-14, championship

1A Division I

At Declo High

Saturday

Shoshone d. Horseshoe Bend 25-21, 25-17, 25-14, fourth and sixth places

Genesee d. Raft River 25-22, 28-26, 28-26, semifinal

Challis d. Troy 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 25-18, semifinal

Troy d. Raft River 25-12, 25-20, 25-17, third and fifth places

Challis d. Genesee 22-25, 16-25, 25-15, 25-17, 15-12, championship

1A Division II

At Burley High

Saturday

Dietrich d. Mackay 25-21, 25-20, 25-23, fourth and sixth places

Camas County d. Garden Valley 25-17, 23-25, 25-21, 16-25, 15-12, semifinal

North Gem d. Tri-Valley 18-25, 25-19, 27-29, 25-21, 15-11, semifinal

Garden Valley d. Tri-Valley 25-20, 25-19, 19-25, 25-19, third and fifth places

Camas County d. North Gem 25-21, 25-14, 23-25, 25-18, championship