PREP VOLLEYBALL: Coeur d'Alene fends off Post Falls for state berth

By MARK NELKE

Sports writer

COEUR d'ALENE — After upsetting the top-seeded Coeur d’Alene Vikings at home on Wednesday night, the Post Falls Trojans had a chance to “prove it” on Saturday, in the deciding match of a best-of-3 series for the 6A District 1 volleyball title. 

Three days later, on the Vikings’ home court, Post Falls won the first set before Coeur d’Alene responded in the next three sets for a 25-27, 25-16, 25-20, 25-16 victory over the Trojans to grab the district’s lone berth to state.  

“They poked the bear ... 1,000 percent,” said Coeur d’Alene senior outside hitter Kaylee Paulson, who had 25 kills (including a smash off the block on match point) for the Vikings. “It’s a testament to how our team responded.” 

Coeur d’Alene (23-4) advances to state Thursday through Saturday at Capital High in Boise, and will learn its first-round foe when the pairings are released by the Idaho High School Activities Association. The Vikings are ranked fourth by MaxPreps, which seeds the eight teams who qualify for state in each bracket.  

Post Falls finished 21-9. 

The Trojans served for the first set three times before a block by junior Rylie Gump gave them the first set. 

“I think it maybe fired them up a little bit,” Coeur d’Alene coach Carly Curtis said of her team. “We were doing good things in the first set, we just had some random errors.” 

“We had to shut down the middles, because they were killing us,” Paulson said. 

Coeur d’Alene took control in the second set, and Paulson’s kill off the block evened the match. 

The third set was tied at 20 before Coeur d’Alene scored the final five points, three on kills by senior Gianna Callari, who finished with 15 kills, 10 digs and two aces.  

Coeur d’Alene seemed to wear down Post Falls in the fourth set, and Paulson’s kill from the outside ended it. 

“I got chills all through my body; I’m not gonna lie,” Callari said of match point. 

Junior libero Bridget Maiani had 35 digs for the Vikings. Junior Hannah Shafer had 35 assists and three blocks, freshman Eva Callari 16 assists, 10 digs and two aces, senior Camryn Farrar 12 kills, junior Jovie Le six blocks, sophomore Maren Larson three blocks. 

“The girls did an amazing job of re-setting (after Wednesday’s loss),” Curtis said. “We’ve worked on staying calm and controlled, but aggressive, and Wednesday was one of those days where nothing was working right for us. It was hard for us to get into a groove. (Today) they played hard, they played aggressive and they played for our seniors. It was an impressive win for us.” 

Sophomore Zuri Blood had 14 kills for Post Falls. Senior Tiffany Foxx had eight kills, junior Lucy Carr 20 assists, sophomore Claire Ziegler 14 assists, Gump five blocks, junior Reese DeGraw-Tryall four blocks, senior Mia Carr 22 digs, junior Teresa Smith 18 digs and two aces. 

“I’m so proud of everything this team has done this year,” Post Falls coach Matt Barkley said. “Our seniors really stepped up all season, not just on the floor but also helping to establish a culture of selflessness that has become contagious in our program. We’re going to miss them. Congratulations to Carly and CHS, they are a solid team and we wish them the best of luck at state.” 

Timberlake d. 

McCall-Donnelly 

LEWISTON — The Tigers qualified for state for the first time since 2021, overcoming a 13-9 deficit in the fifth set to defeat the Vandals 25-16, 11-25, 25-17, 19-25, 16-14 in a state 4A play-in match at Lewiston High. 

Senior Amarijana Olivieri had 17 kills, five blocks and eight digs for Timberlake (12-10), which advances to state Thursday through Saturday at the Mountain America Center in Idaho Falls. 

Sophomore Addie Archer added 14 kills, 14 digs and seven aces, freshman Everlee Powell nine kills, 10 blocks and two aces, freshman Jordyn Parke 23 assists, junior Willow Mattson 11 assists and 13 digs. 

“It was back and forth the whole match,” second-year Timberlake coach Lisa Gardom said. “When we were down 9-13 in the fifth set and in the huddle, none of these girls were done. There was no give-up on their faces. They kept each other up, played smart and were intentional when things weren’t perfect. They rose up together, played with heart and finished strong.” 

Timberlake, ranked 11th in 4A by MaxPreps, will learn its first-round opponent when the IHSAA releases its brackets. 

Wallace d. 

Lakeside  

PLUMMER — Senior Megan Hull had 16 kills, 23 digs and nine aces for the second-seeded Miners in a 27-25, 25-16, 25-21 win over the top-seeded Knights to win the 2A District 1 championship at Ron Miller Court. 

Wallace (16-8), 11th in the latest MaxPreps rankings, advances to state starting Thursday at Post Falls High. Lakeside, bidding for its first trip to state since finishing sixth in 2011, finished 15-3. 

Senior Kylee Phillips had seven kills, 18 digs and two aces for Wallace, which beat Lakeside on Wednesday at North Idaho College to force a second championship match. Junior Kayden Stutzke 16 assists and three aces, senior Aubrey Birdsell 13 assists, seven digs and three kills, junior Grace DeLano two blocks and two kills and senior Olivia Berry nine digs and two aces for the Miners, who are headed to state for the first time since 2023. 

Moscow d. 

Pocatello 

PAYETTE — The Bears, seeded fourth in the District 1 tournament, beat the Thunder 18-25, 25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 15-10 in a state play-in match at Payette High, advancing to the state tournament starting Thursday at Timberline High in Boise. 

Moscow (16-14) is 10th in the latest MaxPreps rankings.

Pocatello finished 21-17.

    MARK NELKE/Press Coeur d'Alene senior Kaylee Paulson (1) hits past the block of senior Tiffany Foxx (5) and junior Reese DeGraw-Tryall (4) of Post Falls in the deciding match of the 6A District 1 volleyball championship Saturday at Coeur d'Alene High.