THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Stick with what works for now

Watching the state volleyball tournament a few weeks ago, you can understand just how big momentum can be in a match.

In the 4A ranks, Lakeland seized it in its opening round match and didn’t look back.

Maybe, it was that the Hawks were the better team that morning at Post Falls High.

Or, it could have been the noise coming from a student section that was there to cheer them on to victory.

Noise never hurts, right?

A LITTLE closer to Coeur d’Alene, North Idaho College will host the East Bracket of the Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, beginning with a match against Everett, the fourth seed from the North Region, today at 1 p.m.

NIC — hosting for the second straight year — is 28-1 and holds a 22-match win streak entering play today.

Last Friday, it was sophomore outside hitters Gracie Keisel (15 kills) and Rachael Stacey (11 kills) leading the way on the attack. 

“Those girls came out with some really big swings and were hitting some great shots,” said first-year NIC coach Brittany Tilleman, who played for the Cardinals from 2014 to 2016, when the program was still a member of the NJCAA. “Our defense was spectacular as well.”

Tilleman — a setter at NIC and later Montana — also credited freshman setter Karolyne Wolfgramm from West Valley City, Utah, for keeping things going on the court.

“Karolyne really keeps our team focused and motivated to play hard,” Tilleman said. “She’s that kind of tough, grind kid that does whatever it takes to win a game or drill in practice. Whatever it is, she does it. She’s been a great leader and knows where to put the ball and keep everyone involved in the offense.”

The championship match is scheduled for Sunday at Christianson Gymnasium at 10 a.m., with the second-place match to start 90 minutes later.

With local products Brooklyn Minden and Rylee Hartwig from Post Falls High on the court, chances are the Cardinals will have a bit of a strong fan base, no matter when and where they’re playing.

IF LAST Sunday’s game was any indication of where the Seahawks might be headed, that direction might be considered downhill fast.

Nothing seemed to work, offensively, defensively and special teams.

Just terrible.

Fortunately for the Seahawks, the rest of the season wasn’t canceled, and they’re actually hosting a game this Sunday against Washington.

As for the future with this team, your guess might be as good as mine.

Sure, the defense is playing a lot better.

But, for a team with all kinds of options at wide receiver, they struggle to complete passes to them consistently.

Maybe it’s the current quarterback, or the play calling, but it seems like when things are good, they’re great. When they aren’t, it’s a total mess.

The situation doesn’t feel too far removed from that of when the team tried to replace Matt Hasselbeck with Tarvaris Jackson.

That seemed to work at times, until it didn’t.

Seattle’s situation still works for now.

But check again come January.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @JECdAPress.