Curtis leads Lake City past Vikings
COEUR d'ALENE - Lake City High junior Kylie Curtis admitted being a little nervous in her first match against her former teammates Thursday night.
And yes, those jitters may have shown in a few missed serves and a few errant hits.
But overall, Curtis stood out with 15 kills, five aces and 14 assists as the host Timberwolves beat the Coeur d'Alene Vikings 25-16, 24-26, 25-15, 25-21 in a 5A Inland Empire League volleyball match at Lake City.
"It was intense," said Curtis, a 5-foot-8 setter/outside hitter who was an all-league selection each of her two seasons at Coeur d'Alene. "A lot of people felt like I had to prove something, but I just had to prove that I was happy over here. And winning was just icing on the cake."
Jennifer Schuman added 11 kills for Lake City (3-1, 2-0 5A IEL), which won at defending league and Region 1 champ Post Falls on Tuesday. Camille Rounds had 23 assists, Mackenzie Brown had 10 digs, and Kelly Jo Cutler had five blocks.
"We were resilient after game 2," Lake City coach Bret Taylor said. "We had a little hiccup at the end of game 2. It was a battle the whole time, it was intense - that is the way volleyball is supposed to be."
Anyssa Matheson had 12 kills, 12 digs and four aces for Coeur d’Alene (2-2, 0-1). Ashley Hammons had 25 assists, Amy Norris 10 digs, Alex Evans nine digs, Kayla McGlathery two blocks.
“Defensively we played real well; we need to get more consistent with our offense,” Coeur d’Alene coach Dee Pottenger said. “They (the Timberwolves) are tough servers; they serve the ball tough. (We had) unforced errors.”
Coeur d’Alene dug the ball well, but was hurt by 12 missed serves in the match, though the Vikings fought back in the second game to square the match.
Cutler came up big in the third game, and Curtis finished it off with a kill down a double block on game point. Late in the fourth game, a back row kill by Curtis gave Lake City a 22-21 lead, and Cutler and Schuman teamed for the final block on match point.
Kylie’s mom, Carly, resigned as Coeur d’Alene coach following last season, amid some turmoil. Kylie transferred to Lake City about a week before tryouts. She had to petition the Idaho High School Activities Association, which approved the transfer.
“I kinda went through some tough times at Coeur d’Alene,” Kylie said. “I just wanted a fresh start because I wanted to be happy. I went through (open gym in the summer) with them (the Vikings); but I didn’t feel like it would change, and I just wanted a new start. I didn’t feel like people respected what I brought to the court, and at Lake City, I just feel like everybody is for each other.
“I was a little bit nervous at the beginning (of the match), but my team had my back and pulled me back to where I needed to be.”
“I didn’t have to keep her calmed down,” Taylor said. “She was prepared and ready, and is a good teammate, and works hard.”
Both squads are at the Lakeland Invitational on Saturday.