STATE HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENTS: Kootenai peaked at right time

It's not how you start.

Because if it was, this might not be possible.

After winning only two matches entering the 1A Division II District 1 tournament, the Kootenai Warriors caught fire at the right place, and right time on Saturday afternoon.

Kootenai (6-13) beat Clark Fork, Lakeside and Mullan twice - tripling the team's win total for the season coming into the day - and advancing to the state tournament starting Friday at Declo High.

"We've got some things we need to button up, but overall, the girls are ready," first-year Kootenai coach Mary Gentry said. "The season didn't go well for us, but the girls fought hard, didn't give up and didn't give in."

It is Kootenai's first state appearance since 2005, three years before the tournament was separated into two divisions.