Fully loaded, Trojans sweep Viks
POST FALLS - With a full complement of starters back in the lineup, Post Falls is making up for a slow start that found the Trojans down 0-2 in the 5A Inland Empire League volleyball standings.
Ashley Jibby recorded nine digs, three aces and two blocks as the Trojans beat the Coeur d'Alene Vikings 25-17, 25-21, 25-21 in a 5A IEL match at The Arena on Tuesday night.
"It helps to have everyone playing," Post Falls coach Willow Hanna said. "We finally had a chance to have all our kids on the floor."
After Post Falls lost its previous two league matches against Lake City and at Lewiston, the Trojans battled back to finish second in the Lakeland Invitational.
“I think we just needed to get a win against some quality competition,” Hanna said. “Or just a win. We needed to get things going on the right track and after the weekend, we set a new standard for our level of play.”
Post Falls took control of the first game following a kill by Tori Bertsch to give the Trojans a 17-13 lead. Danielle Failor closed the game on a kill to give Post Falls a 25-17 win.
“We really came out and played our game tonight,” Jibby said. “It wasn’t just one player, it was an entire team effort. Everyone played well.”
Jibby closed the second game with an ace.
“After playing them in the (Lakeland) tournament on Saturday, we wanted to turn that into a preview of Tuesday’s match,” said Jibby, who missed the two league matches last week, but returned to the lineup at the Lakeland Invitational.
Post Falls beat Coeur d’Alene 25-17, 25-19 in pool play on its way to a second-place finish in the Lakeland Invitational.
“We wanted to show that the slow start we were out to was behind us,” Jibby said. “With state coming up, we wanted to get back on track toward that goal.”
Bertsch had nine kills and 17 assists, and Failor, Jibby and Allison Meehan had two blocks each for Post Falls (7-3, 1-2 5A IEL), which travels to the Kent Classic on Saturday in Kent, Wash.
“Tori played well tonight,” Hanna said. “We had some strong moments and then we had some lulls, but we kept pushing throughout the entire match.”
Kayla McGlathery had 10 kills and four blocks for Coeur d’Alene (8-3, 0-2), which travels to Lewiston on Thursday.
“It’s tough when we battle that close and don’t win,” Coeur d’Alene coach Dee Pottinger said. “We had four aces tonight, but we also had 10 errors. It’s tough to play well and beat a team as good as Post Falls.”
Coeur d’Alene fought back from a 20-15 deficit to get within 21-20, but Post Falls closed out the match on a Bertsch tip to get the win.
Ashley Hammons had 32 assists, Anyssa Matheson eight digs, two aces and seven kills and Amy Norris had seven digs for Coeur d’Alene.