The Front Row with MARK NELKE September 2, 2010

Nearly a month after the decision, area high school volleyball coaches still aren’t crazy with the Idaho High School Activities Association’s decision to switch the state volleyball (and softball) tournaments from double-elimination to single-elimination with a consolation bracket.

“I’m not a huge fan, because I like the chance to come back,” Coeur d’Alene coach Carly Curtis said. “Two years ago, we went down and lost the first match, and we would have never been able to work our way back.”

The Vikings finished third.

The IHSAA made the decision (effective the next two years, after which the topic will be revisited) to save the state money, as well as save the schools money.

Now, you only need three victories to capture a state title. In the past, it took four. If you lose your first match, the best you can place is fourth. If you lose in the semifinals, you will play for third place.

IHSAA president Robin Stanley, superintendent of the Mullan School District, said Idaho was one of only three states still to use the double-elimination format.

Washington now uses a 16-team, single-elimination format with a consolation bracket. Idaho’s is an eight-team bracket.

LAKE CITY coach Bret Taylor formerly coached at North Idaho College, guiding the Cardinals twice to nationals, including a fourth-place finish in 2006.

“It was kinda that way at nationals — if you lost that first day, say goodbye to the top 10,” he said. “I don’t know if you’ll necessarily get the best team as the state champion. You might get a good team that was lucky.”

Post Falls coach Willow Hanna took the Trojans to state last fall for the first time since 1991. The Trojans won their first match, lost the next two and tied for fifth.

“I think it’s a step backwards; I don’t think it’s going to save them as much money as they think,” she said. “I think that it limits the state experience. We can play more games in a day than basketball.

“It’s obviously a momentum sport; things can change quickly in volleyball. Teams have lost that first match and won the state title. It would be nice to still have that chance.”

“You can play multiple games in a day, so let’s determine a true champion,” Lakeland coach Claudia Ebel said. “They took away the parade of athletes (for time reasons) ... I just think they’re taking away from the experience.”

IN THE 3A tourney, five district champions qualify for the eight-team tournament, so one first-round matchup is always going to pit district champs against each other. In the three times Timberlake coach Michelle Garwood has taken her teams to state, all three times the Tigers won the district title — and faced a No. 1 seed in their state opener.

“Unless they revise that, one is going to drop down to the consolation bracket, and that’s not fair,” she said. “It’s all about money and not about the kids, and it’s ridiculous.”

St. Maries won the state 3A title last year, its first state title since 1993. But the Lumberjacks had a tendency to come out slow in matches, “and we can’t do that this year, especially with them moving the state tournament to single-elimination,” St. Maries coach Missy Asbury said. “I’ve been pushing that — they have to come out and attack.”

The way the IHSAA seeds the state tourneys, they try to pit a No. 1 seed against a team that didn’t win a district title. If there are upsets at districts, you could have two of the top teams meeting in the first round. It’s not ideal, but, aside from a random draw, they have few other options short of a seeding meeting — and good luck trying to determine whether, say Clark Fork should be seeded ahead of Clark County, when they had no common opponents.

“Because you’re never seeded right, it’ll never work as far as being fair,” Kootenai coach Mandy Love said. “The thought’s nice, but ... ”

IN A way, the switch could actually cost schools money, as some may want to leave a day early and avoid a lengthy bus ride the day before the tourney.

“I told (athletic director) Todd (Gilkey), if that’s the format, you better get me down there in time to get those girls rested,” Curtis said. Two years ago, “we had the 8 a.m. match after driving 9-10 hours on a bus.”

Under the new format, if Curtis wanted to leave a day early and take her team halfway, someone would have to pay for that extra night in a motel.

“I’d fundraise,” Curtis said. “I’d find a way.”

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via e-mail at mnelke@cdapress.com.