The Front Row with MARK NELKE Sept. 8, 2011

The St. Maries High volleyball team won its first two matches at the state 3A volleyball tournament last year at Wendell High.

But the Lumberjacks felt bad after they lost their next match to Snake River. Because the Idaho High School Activities Association changed the format for state volleyball last year to a single-elimination with consolation, and the loss happened in the championship match, St. Maries' season was over with a second-place finish. The Lumberjacks were unable to repeat as state champs.

Under the old format, which had been in place from 1985-2009, the St. Maries-Snake River match would have been a semifinal. The winner would have advanced to the championship match, and the loser would have dropped into the consolation bracket. If they made it back to the championship match, they would have had to beat the other team twice to win the title.

"That was kind of heartbreaking," St. Maries coach Missy Asbury said of last year's loss to Snake River, "because I don't think they could have beat us twice."

But under the new format, they didn't have to.

This year, North Idaho fans will get a taste of the new format when the state tournaments in all six classifications take place in various gyms in Coeur d'Alene, Rathdrum and Lewiston.

"I don't like it," Asbury said of the new format, which will be reviewed again after this season, and will either be continued or changed to something else. "For the simple fact that once you lose, you're done (as far as having the chance to win a state title). A few years ago we had a horrible match and came back and got second."

THAT WON'T happen this year, either.

Timberlake coach Michelle Garwood took her team to state three straight years from 2003-05. Last year, the Tigers made it back to state for the first time since '05.

Their reward — a matchup with eventual champion Snake River. Timberlake lost, then won its next match, then lost the match for fourth and sixth places.

“Once you get beat by that team (in the first round), you have no chance to be higher (than fourth), so those teams that ended up second and third might not really be better than you,” Garwood said. “I just liked the opportunity that you had to come back.”

Garwood said especially with volleyball being such a momentum sport, you can lose one match in a hurry.

Under the old format, at least you had the chance to win your way back, but “I just have a feeling it’s going to end up staying,” she said of the current format, which is also being used in softball on a two-year trial basis.

IN 2009, Post Falls advanced to state for the first time since 1991. The Trojans lost their first match, won their second and lost their third and were eliminated, finishing in a tie for fifth.

Last year, at Canyon Ridge High in Twin Falls, Post Falls lost its first match, then came back to win its next two to claim the consolation (fourth-place) trophy.

“Last year we had three juniors and three sophomores, and it was a little overwhelming,” Post Falls coach Willow Hanna said. “Would it have been nice to have another shot? Absolutely.”

One other thing she pointed out. If Post Falls had won its first match, played Friday at 10 a.m. local time, the Trojans wouldn’t have played again until Saturday at 11 a.m. The championship match was Saturday at 6 p.m.

“There’s a lot of down time,” Hanna said.

Unlike softball, which was tightened from three days to a two-day tournament last spring, the volleyball tournament still starts on a Friday morning and ends Saturday night.

Saving money for schools was one reason mentioned for the new format, but most teams pretty much traveled to the tourney site on Thursday and left for home Saturday night or Sunday morning, depending on when they finished.

“Did it save us any money? No,” Hanna said. “Put us in a double-elimination tourney and let us play. That’s what we’re here for.”

I AGREE.

The knock in the past was that play dragged on too long each day. On Friday night, it wasn’t unusual for the final point to be scored after 11 p.m. And I remember a 5A tournament in Twin Falls one year that went to the if-necessary championship match, and that didn’t get over with until shortly before midnight.

Adding a day is not an option, as that would cost schools more money.

Sure, play could run long each day under the old format, but as Hanna said, let them play — that’s what they are there for.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via e-mail at [email protected].