Volleyball: Simple, but beautiful

Volleyball is a pretty simple sport.

Bump, set, spike.

As sexy as the spike is, if you can’t pass, you can’t play.

And if you have a setter like Klaire Mitchell of Lake City, who can do so many things well — block, hit, dump, dig — in addition to usually putting her sets right on the money, that can make a big difference as well.

One thing hasn’t changed in the three-plus decades of watching these state volleyball tournaments — when the matches get tight at the end, and the pressure mounts — it seems one team keeps swinging away, and the other settles for tips and dumps and chips.

And the team that stays aggressive usually comes out on top.

ONE THING I noticed in two days of watching the state 5A tourney at Coeur d’Alene High — the defense played by the top teams was incredible.

Lake City players say they pride themseles on not letting the ball hit the floor. That’s admirable, but it’s not that easy — not with the teams that were wailing away at each other last weekend.

Now, much of it is positioning — if you read the hitter right, and are lined up just off the block, you should be able to make a play on even the most hard-hit spike. But sometimes, despite the best of positioning, when you’re trying to dig Lake City’s outside hitters (Arlaina Stephenson and Ashley Kaufman), as well as Bonneville’s top hitters, if they get on top of the ball, there’s not much a back row player can do about it.

It’s kinda like the men’s game played at the national level — if the blockers don’t at least slow the ball down, the diggers don’t have much of a chance.

On Saturday, Lake City and Bonneville pounded away at each other, in the semifinal and the championship match, with some smashes you wouldn’t think possible could be dug. But both teams’ defenses were well-positioned and fearless, and it made for some entertaining volleyball.

What was it like to play in matches like that?

“It’s crazy,” Lake City senior libero Ashley Reyes said. “Just the experience we both have, and nothing ever touches the floor is probably the best feeling, because everybody’s doing their job. And it makes every point worth it.”

LAKE CITY’s runner-up finish at state marked the Timberwolves’ best finish at state since the school opened in 1994.

The T-Wolves will lose five seniors (Stephenson, Reyes, middle blockers Zion Nelson and Kaitlin Hunter, and defensive specialist Chloe Knudson) who all played key roles in this year’s run. But Mitchell, who has committed to NCAA Division I Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, returns, as does Kaufman, as well as a handful of other juniors and sophomores who showed what they could do despite limited playing time.

“And we’ve got some talent coming up (from the junior varsity),” first-year Lake City coach Mike Summers said.

Whether that’s enough to challenge Bonneville again, we’ll have to wait and see when next year’s state tourney unfolds in the Boise area. The Bees of Idaho Falls were young this year — three juniors and three sophomores played key roles in this year’s title run. They also played key roles when Bonneville won the state championship last year. So they’re young, but seasoned.

Post Falls, meanwhile, showed it belonged as well. The Trojans were in all three matches — could have easily won all three — before bowing out and finishing in a tie for fifth in their first state appearance since 2012.

Post Falls will lose four key seniors — outside hitters Allison Munday and Mackenzie Morris, middle blocker Sydney Parks and libero Kalli Minden — who were key to the momentum produced by this successful season.

“I hope it continues,” said Munday, who has committed to Idaho.

Second-year coach Matt Barkley hopes it continues as well — if for no other reason than he can trot out his orange pants that he wore to big matches this season.

“I like our young players, too, our juniors (including middle blocker Tessa Sarff) and sophomores and freshmen stepped up (at state). Maya (Blake), our freshman (outside hitter), played some big minutes. Both our setters (juniors Kayla Mayo and Courtney Finney) are coming back. Ali Carpenter (sophomore defensive specialist), she’s a floor general out there; she understands the game really well.”

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.