STATE 3A VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT: Timberlake out in 2

COEUR d’ALENE ­— Slow starts, too many errors and some tougher competition than they’ve faced in a while added up to a quick exit for Timberlake High volleyball team at the state 3A volleyball tournament at Lake City High.

Timberlake lost to Sugar-Salem 25-5, 25-21, 25-17 on Friday morning, then was eliminated by the Weiser Wolverines in the afternoon, 25-9, 25-22, 25-21.

“It was a rough day,” Timberlake coach Michelle Garwood said. “But we knew those teams from the south were going to be good. You get to this level, and you can’t have a bad day. You’ve got to be spot-on, you’ve got to pass ... it just wasn’t our day. The teams we played were good teams, and they caused us to get out of our rhythm.”

Timberlake, with just two seniors, finished 22-11.

Sugar-Salem d. Timberlake: None of the current Tigers were on the the last Timberlake team that played at state in 2012.

Timberlake, with just two seniors on the roster, fell behind Sugar-Salem 14-1 in the first set, and had just one kill in the entire set, and numerous errors.

Timberlake coach Michelle Garwood attributed her team’s slow start to “first time here … a lot of young kids…. just seeing an athletic team like that; not seeing that kind of team up here, and just getting shifted from the mindset of what we had been seeing to that kind of a system. That setter (Chaise Dodson) did a phenomenal job; everything she touched turned to gold.”

Sugar-Salem (27-12) was led by some strong net play -- 5-10 senior outside hitter Peytan Crapo had nine kills, 6-foot junior right side hitter Addi Gehlich had seven kills, 5-10 senior outside hitter Kyle Miller had six kills, and 5-10 sophomore middle blocker Savanah Crane had 2 kills and 3.5 blocks, and 5-9 junior middle blocker Sara Adams had three kills and two blocks. Dodson, a senior, had 22 assists and 10 digs, and senior libero Abby Allen had 11 digs.

“Last year we had one hitter that did all the work, and this year our goal was to spread that out,” Diggers coach Cami Dodson said. “We have a good setter, and she wanted to use all the positions to attack.

“We saw one video (on Timberlake) that was posted on YouTube,” Dodson said. “It showed that they had great servers, and that they would attack the third ball. Our defense knew they had to be on point to play them.”

After the first game, Garwood moved freshman Kenzie Dean from outside hitter to libero, and inserted freshman Ashlyn Mallet into the front row to counter Sugar’s size.

After falling behind 7-0 in Game 2, Timberlake started playing a little better, and pulled within 23-21 in the second game before falling. The Tigers fell behind early in the third game, and trailed by roughly a half-dozen points the rest of the way.

“They were a very athletic team,” Garwood said. “Their setter did an amazing job. We adjusted some things, and that helped.”

Dean had five digs and two aces for Timberlake. Matraca Rocheleau had eight assists and four digs, and Jacquelyn Mallet and Glori Cheevers had two kills each.

Weiser d. Timberlake: The Tigers fell behind 6-0 and 10-2 in the first game. Timberlake played the Wolverines (15-10) fairly even in the second and third games, but could not quite get over the hump against a Weiser attack led by senior outside hitter Paige Brown.

Courtney Eaton had five kills, two aces and a block for Timberlake. Jacquelyn Mallet had five kills, eight digs and three aces, Dean seven digs, Rocheleau 17 assists.

“We moved Courtney Eaton to the outside, and I thought she did a great job,” said Garwood, who kept Dean at libero during the Weiser match, and praised her play as well.

“They don’t quit,” Garwood said of her team. “I’m proud of them for sticking in there, and keeping their heads up. We didn’t bring it like we needed to today, but we had some fight in us.”

Whatever momentum Timberlake began to generate in each match seemed to fizzle away quickly ­— a great play was often followed up by a missed serve.

“We made some errors that we haven’t made this season,” Garwood said, “and now was not the time to make those errors.”

“This morning we weren’t really awake,” said Eaton, a senior utility player and three-year varsity player. “But we grouped together during the Weiser game and played a lot better. I think our energy picked up a ton.”