Seniors set the tone at Timberlake

Timberlake is headed to the state 3A volleyball tournament this week for the fourth straight year.

That’s the longest stretch of consecutive appearances at state for the Tiger program, which began in 1998.

In 2016, Timberlake finished second at state — the first time the Tigers had advanced as far as the state championship match. Last year. Timberlake was fourth, bringing home another trophy.

All told, the Tigers are making their ninth trip to state.

“Of course I am very proud of our program,” said coach Michelle Garwood, who started the Timberlake program, “but I also have kids who work hard each and every day and set a great example for the younger players coming into the program. The older kids are the backbone of THS volleyball because they know that they set the tone for future players here and they take that role very seriously. They know my expectations and have worked very hard to meet and surpass them. I could not be more proud of the players they have become, win or lose.”

Timberlake (24-9), which opens vs. Gooding (15-3) on Friday at Mountain View High in Meridian, is a veteran team led by senior outside hitter Kenzie Dean, who was named MVP of the Intermountain League last week.

“With six seniors, it’s not hard to motivate them,” Garwood said of her team. “We have had some obstacles that we have had to overcome (Dean injured for a few matches and Kylie Marneris injured for districts), but in the end, I think — injuries aside — it has been good for our team to have to learn how to play without those two. We have had to move players around and have given kids opportunities to become more versatile. I know that for Kenzie, being out, a role she has never been in, has given her more drive to succeed.”

Timberlake hopes to challenge Sugar-Salem, the two-time defending state champions, for the title.

“If we play our game, we will compete,” Garwood said.

Kellogg is at state for just the fourth time in school history, and the first since 1996. The Wildcats also qualified for state in 1985 and ’87.

5A

Lake City (29-1), last year’s state runners-up, opens vs. Rocky Mountain (14-5) of Meridian on Friday at Ridgevue High in Nampa.

Lake City beat Rocky in last year’s state opener. The Timberwolves beat Timberline of Boise earlier this season in the finals of the Rocky Mountain Invitational.

Bonneville of Idaho Falls, last year’s champion, moved down to 4A and is the favorite in that tournament.

But that didn’t make it any easier for Lake City because Skyview of Nampa, last year’s state 4A champions, moved up to 5A, and won the 5A Southern Idaho Conference and 5A District 3 tournament.

Lake City has not faced Skyview. But the T-Wolves beat Madison twice last year at state, the second time in the third-place match.

“We can’t take it for granted,” second-year Lake City coach Mike Summers said of state. “We have to go down and earn every game, earn every point. There’s Skyview, and Timberline’s going to be hungry for us, and Madison’s been up in the rankings. It’s not going to be a cakewalk. We have to go down and play one point at a time, one game at a time, and stay focused on the task at hand.”

Coeur d’Alene (18-9), on the opposite side of the bracket from Lake City, opens vs. Skyview (16-0).

Former Coeur d’Alene High standout Carly Curtis originally returned to her alma mater this year as an assistant. But when head coach Renee Bordelon left to take a job as assistant coach at the University of Idaho, Curtis became head coach — for the second time with the Vikings — just two weeks before tryouts.

“None of these girls had played for me,” Curtis said. “We made sure we set up an atmosphere that was family based. We were one program, not three separate teams. I was a new person coming in, and everybody thought they had a fresh chance.”

Curtis said she has been most impressed with her team’s fighting spirit this season.

“When things are tough, they feel they can fight back,” she said. “I think they got a lot smarter with their hits and their shots. And their serves got tougher.”