Change for the better at Post Falls

The road to a state volleyball championship is longer this year when compared to the past two seasons, but you won't hear local coaches complaining about it.

Tournaments in all five classifications begin today in eastern and south-central Idaho, with the 5A tournament at Bonneville High in Idaho Falls, the 4A at Skyline High in Idaho Falls, the 3A at Madison High in Rexburg, the 2A at Hillcrest High in Idaho Falls, the 1A Division I at Kimberly High and the 1A Division II at Twin Falls High.

Gone is the two-year experiment of having a single-elimination tournament with a consolation bracket, and a return to a true double-elimination tournament.

"I am very pleased that the tournament went back to the double-elimination format," Timberlake coach Michelle Garwood said. "Volleyball is such a momentum sport that the format over the last two years didn't allow you to have an off match the first round if you wanted to end up in the upper bracket."

Post Falls finished second in last year's 5A tournament at Coeur d'Alene High and was fourth the previous year at Canyon Ridge High in Twin Falls.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for the kids,” Post Falls coach Willow Hanna said. “I think the double elimination just enhances the state experience and for the money we spend to travel to state — it gives us a little more bang for our buck too. If someone has a rough game in the first match, now they can fight their way back to a state championship.”

After 12 state championships at the 3A level, the St. Maries Lumberjacks take aim at their first 2A title.

In an effort to have the tournament finish at a reasonable hour on Saturday, today’s play at all six sites will consist of two matches at the same time on side-by-side nets. Saturday’s play will be on one net.

Championship matches are scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m. PDT.

5A: Post Falls (17-22) had to win twice on the road against Inland Empire League rivals Lake City and Coeur d’Alene just to advance to a play-in match, but defeated Borah in three sets to advance to today’s tournament, opening against Timberline High (13-6) of Boise at 9 a.m. PDT.

Post Falls went 3-3 in the Bonneville-Hillcrest Classic in Idaho Falls in mid-September and was 1-5 in the 5A IEL this season.

“We’ve changed our defense and lineup a couple of times,” Hanna said. “We’ve really focused on how to play as a team and more on the mental side of things.”

Seniors Savannah Hill, Danielle Failor and Brooke Litalien played on the Trojans’ last two state qualifiers.

“Anytime you’ve got players that have been to state before, it’s an advantage,” Hanna said. “They’ve been through this before. And I think anytime you can take some past experience and turn it into something that can help you — it’s a good thing. They’re just more at ease with the process.”

Lewiston (26-4), which won the Region 1 tournament, opens with Boise (15-12) at 9 a.m.

Idaho Falls (22-18), the defending champion, faces Vallivue (24-5) of Caldwell in the opening round.

4A: Sandpoint (22-8) won the Region 1 title and opens with Wood River. Century (36-3) of Pocatello has won the past two state championships and faces Emmett (8-7) in the opening round. With a win by both, Sandpoint and Century would play each other in the second round.

3A: Timberlake (18-11) advanced by defeating Priest River (20-8) in five sets in the District 1 championship at Lakeland High last Thursday.

“We just need to keep playing how we’ve been playing,” Garwood said. “There’s going to be some great teams down at state. It was nice to see Priest River here, because they’re a high caliber team. We need to go down there and play like we have all season.”

Timberlake, which last played at state in 2010, faces Sugar-Salem in the opening round at 7 a.m.

“Our plan is to go down there and play Timberlake volleyball like we’ve been playing all year,” Garwood said. “We’re in a tough bracket with last year’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams (Snake River and Fruitland) and Sugar is always tough. I feel if our team plays how we have most of the year, we’ll hold our own. We battled Priest River every time we met them this year — and they are a great team.”

Priest River, which beat Buhl in a play-in match on Saturday, opens vs. Shelley (18-16) at 9 a.m.

Snake River, the two-time defending champion, opens with Fruitland.

2A: St. Maries (18-13) beat Grangeville in four games in the District 1-2 championship in Moscow to advance. The Lumberjacks open vs. Ririe at 9 a.m.

“I don’t really know what the teams offer down at state, but we’ll need to play our game to be successful,” St. Maries coach Missy Asbury said.

Middle blocker Mariah Gladden and hitter Lakin Anxo, both seniors, played on the 2009 state championship team, which defeated Kimberly for its first state title since 1993. The Lumberjacks finished second and fifth in their final two tournaments at the 3A level.

West Side, which won last year’s tournament, failed to qualify.

Grangeville (26-13) opens with Malad.

1A Division I: Troy, the defending champion, opens with Butte County.

1A Division II: Mullan (12-1) advanced to state for the first time in 10 years, and first since the classification split into two divisions in 2008. The Tigers open vs. Lighthouse Christian at 9 a.m.

Camas County, which won the last three state championships, failed to qualify. Garden Valley won the title in 2008.