SANDPOINT — Sandpoint volleyball left it all on the court Thursday night.

Lake City entered Les Rogers Court expecting to walk away with an easy win, but the Bulldogs came out on a mission in the first set and showed they weren't going to just roll over.

Sandpoint led for most of the first set and with a 23-20 advantage, Lake City called a timeout hoping to regroup. The Timberwolves did just that and scored four straight points to force a timeout by head coach Karen Alsager.

The Bulldogs fought off two set points but in the end, Lake City prevailed 27-25.

Unfortunately, that was Sandpoint's best chance to grab a set off the 5-2 Timberwolves as they fell in straight sets, 27-25, 25-22, 25-10.

On Sept. 8, Lake City dominated Sandpoint 25-13, 25-10, 25-11. This time around the Bulldogs made the Timberwolves earn the victory and Alsager was proud of the effort she saw from her squad.

"I'm excited to see improvement," she said. "Even though the win-loss record to some degree may not show that, I'm seeing point-by-point improvement."

The Bulldogs played without starting setter Lauren Breuner, who injured her neck in warm-ups, but senior Kaylee Banks stepped into the spot and didn't miss a beat. Alsager was impressed with what she saw from Banks.

Junior Tori Pelkey also stepped into a brand new role at right front.

Alsager didn't realize her team had so much depth and versatility.

"Here we are going out for this game and I have a setter that's never set before and another girl playing a position she hasn't played before," she said. "We didn't get called for one out-of-rotation and we didn't have communication errors. It just speaks a lot to the maturity of these girls that we can have an adverse situation like that and almost beat a very good team in the first two games."

Sandpoint carried a lot of the momentum and passion they built in the first set into the second, but Lake City finally started to find its rhythm.

In the third set, the Timberwolves showed what they capable of and handed the Bulldogs their second straight defeat.

In their last match against Post Falls, the Bulldogs failed to record a single block. Thursday night, Sandpoint had an onslaught including three blocks during a point in the first set.

Bella Phillips and Pelkey led the team with three blocks apiece.

"She's so athletic and smart and her timing was so good," Alsager said about Pelkey. "She had some great touches."

Gabby Hicks tallied 13 digs and 10 kills, CeCe Deprez had nine assists and two aces and Banks added six assists.

The Bulldogs (2-8) will face their third straight 5A opponent when they head to Coeur d'Alene at 3 p.m. Saturday.