5A REGION 1 VOLLEYBALL: Playing through the pain — Janke overcomes mishap to lead Coeur d'Alene to state for first time since 2020

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

COEUR d’ALENE — Gia Janke began Tuesday night with a goal of leading her Coeur d’Alene High volleyball team to state.

She ended the night with a possible fractured bone under her right eye, and a round bandage covering up the blood — the result of a teammate’s inadvertent elbow.

But that wasn’t going to stop the senior middle blocker from scoring the winning point at the net, and hoisting the championship trophy after the Vikings qualified for state for the first time since 2020 by beating the Post Falls Trojans 20-25, 25-15, 25-21, 15-25, 15-13 in the 5A Region I title match Tuesday night at Viking Court.

“I just remember how bad I wanted to go back in there and play,” said Janke, who has signed with NAIA Ottawa University in Surprise, Ariz. “I was just scared, and it hurt pretty bad, but I was more concerned about the game.”

Coeur d’Alene (21-5) advances to state Oct. 27-28 at Lake City High, since teams can’t play state in their own gym.

Post Falls (28-6), which won the last two regional titles, will play host to fourth-seeded Lewiston (5-10) on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the second-place match, with the winner advancing to a state play-in match Saturday at Grangeville.

Lewiston eliminated third-seeded Lake City with a 25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-10 victory Tuesday night at LC. Lake City finished 10-11.

Coeur d’Alene d. Post Falls: Junior Paisley Goings had 16 kills and three blocks for the Vikings, who bounced back after the Trojans looked sharp in taking the first set. Coeur d’Alene then recovered again after falling 25-15 in the fourth set.

Kaydence Green added 12 kills, Janke six kills and four blocks, Olivia Naccarato six kills and three blocks, Madison Mitchell eight kills.

Bailey Jaworski had 22 assists, 17 digs and three aces, Lizzy Hardy 24 assists and two aces, Gracie Legg 32 digs.

“I’m just so proud of the way our girls fought tonight,” Coeur d’Alene coach Carly Curtis said. “They showed a lot of heart, a lot of grit, a lot of determination. There were many times we were down in that match, and they kept battling no matter what. We knew it was going to be a five-set match … we knew it was going to be a battle. Post Falls is a great team, and we knew we were going to be battling with them. I’m super proud of our middles; we had to do some switching (with Janke out for part of the match). We had some adversity, but the girls kept battling, and they did a great job.”

Early in the second set, Janke went up with Green on an overfeed, and Green’s elbow caught Janke just below the right eye. Janke left the court and then the floor to receive medical attention, then watched the rest of the second set and the entire third set from the bench.

“We had to patch her up, and let her catch her breath,” Curtis said. “I thought Gianna (Callari, a sophomore) came on and did a great job, but we wanted to get her back out there, because she’s a spirit; she’s one of those girls who works hard for every point, and be the most positive person out there.”

She re-entered the match in the fourth, and was there at the net in the fifth set to put the ball to the floor on Post Falls’ side on match point.

“It was just a lot of adrenaline, and I wanted to be the one, so I got up and I got it. It just felt amazing; I just felt overwhelmed, and I felt all the love of my teammates, and it was awesome.”

Post Falls led 10-9 in the fifth set. A block by Goings gave Coeur d’Alene an 11-10 lead. Callari had a block to make it 12-10, then a kill by Callari made it 13-11. A tip by Janke made it 14-11. An ace by Kylie Munday brought Post Falls to within 14-13, then Janke came through on match point.

“This is just incredible,” said Naccarato, who had a key block late in the third set to help Coeur d’Alene go up 2 sets to 1. “Since sophomore year, we lost in the district championship to Post Falls, so to come back and get it our senior year, it’s honestly what I’ve been dreaming for with this team for the last three years.”

“I’m just proud of how scrappy they were tonight,” Curtis said.

“I don’t have words; it was just insane,” Jaworski said of the feeling of getting to state. “Like, we’ve been working so hard for the past three years, and it’s so nice to see it finally pay off and get that win that we’ve been wanting.”

Munday had 14 kills, 30 assists, three blocks and 12 digs for Post Falls. Jenna Sarff had 11 kills, Lucy Carr 11 assists, Kaela Gump two blocks and two aces, Sam Anderson two blocks, Lexi Noridasa 14 digs, Danielle Codd 12 digs.

Post Falls beat Coeur d’Alene in four sets on Sept. 5, then the Vikings swept the Trojans on Oct. 3 to grab the top seed to regionals.

“I think beating them in three really proved to ourselves that we can come out and compete and that we deserve it just as much as they do,” Naccarato said. “And I think being the underdogs, we had something to prove.”

Lewiston d. Lake City: Jess Wilson had 20 kills, Taylor Winey 40 assists, Ava Johnson 11 digs, Daphne Neeley 22 digs for the Timberwolves in the loss.

“Not the end we expected, but there was no shortage of fight,” Lake City coach Michelle Kleinberg said. “It was a bumpy season for us, but we never gave up. Proud to be a Timberwolf.”