LEWISTON — Sandpoint volleyball opened its season Saturday with a pair of non-league matches against Lewiston and Lakeland.

The Bulldogs faced the Bengals first and fell in three sets, 25-20, 25-17, 30-28.

Sandpoint head coach Karen Alsager said they scouted Lewiston during their match Thursday against Coeur d’Alene, but the team did not execute their strategy.

“We felt very ready to play them and we had a good plan, but we didn’t serve very well,” she said. “We were going to serve hard so they couldn’t run their middles and we just didn’t serve well. We served easy and made errors.”

Sandpoint battled hard in the third set but couldn’t avoid being swept.

“We seemed slow and just a step behind,” Alsager said. “We were fairly quiet. It was not the team that I’ve been practicing with for the last month and that was hard, and they knew it, we just couldn’t seem to get out of it.”

In their second match against Lakeland, Sandpoint lost 25-16, 25-18, 25-18.

Despite the loss, Alsager said her team realized they can stick with the Hawks when they bring their A game.

“Lakeland wasn’t as scary as I think we thought they’d be,” she said. “We were only about seven points behind them, and we did not play well, and I don’t think it was because Lakeland was playing well.”

Senior Gabby Hicks led Sandpoint with 17 kills and 16 digs between the two matches. Bella Phillips had nine kills and five blocks, Kinzie Ward notched 18 digs and Lauren Breuner grabbed 13 set assists. Sam Koster also added 16 digs and four aces.

“We have a lot of work to do and it’s going to be a grind,” Alsager said.

Sandpoint (0-2) hosts Post Falls at 7 p.m. Thursday.