Mullan nabs state berth for first time since 2002

MULLAN - Kami McKinnon had 24 kills and nine blocks for the Mullan Tigers in a 20-25, 25-18, 25-14, 25-22 win against the Clark Fork Wampus Cats in the 1A Division II District 1 championship match on Saturday at the Mullan Pavilion.

Mullan (12-1) advances to its first state tournament since 2002. It is the first time since the classification split into two divisions 2008 that Clark Fork hasn't advanced.

"It's exciting," Mullan coach Dawn McKinnon said. "We might be small, but we've got the skill. Clark Fork's tough and they came out and played tough in the first game, but we found a way to beat them in the last three games."

Sydney Koenig had 14 kills and seven blocks and Charli Sadler 19 assists for Mullan (12-1), which faces Lighthouse Christian in the opening round Friday at Twin Falls High.

Mariah Miller had 14 kills, Autumn Wagoner 11 kills and seven blocks, Annie Wurm 37 assists, Dimi Kailang nine kills and Heather Wold seven digs for Clark Fork, which finishes 11-10.

Wampus Cat head coach Michelle Adams had high praise for the play of Wagoner, a junior who missed the past two district tournaments due to injury.

"She really wanted it. It's the first year she's been able to go out and give it her all," said Adams, who felt her team played well in defeat. "We were on fire in the first game, covering our hits really well. Little mistakes let Mullan get ahead of us and they ran with it. It's a bummer to lose games even when we played well, but they put their hearts into it."