Clark Fork 3, Kootenai 0 

CLARK FORK — It was a night to remember for Clark Fork High’s lone senior, Nora-Jean Hoy, as her Wampus Cats battled past the Kootenai Warriors in three sets (25-14, 25-18, 25-18) in a 1A North Star League contest on Tuesday night. 

Hoy was honored during senior night festivities prior to the game, before turning the corner and leading Clark Fork with six kills. Clark Fork head coach Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, who has been coaching Hoy since the senior began playing volleyball, said that Hoy embodies the team’s ‘next point’ mentality. 

"It’s been a long journey for her, becoming more mentally and emotionally resilient as a volleyball player,” Kiebert-Carey said. “Her leadership is [like a] big sister who does what needs to be done to show you that it can be done. No matter how her personal game goes this year, her proportional pay, she stays committed to helping her teammates do their best. That’s my Nora.” 

Two freshmen starred on the night as Ashley Aumick tied Hoy with a team-high six kills while Molly Adams went supernova at the serving line. Adams led Clark Fork with nine aces and went a perfect 19/19 on serves, which Kiebert-Carey credited to her open mind and continued work on her serve. 

While Clark Fork ultimately pulled away from Kootenai, the teams spent much of the second and third sets within three points of each other. In those clutch moments, the Wampus Cats’ diverse offense often caught the Warriors by surprise and allowed them to reclaim the momentum. 

Kiebert-Carey said the Wampus Cats’ misdirection-filled attacks are only possible because of sophomore setter Kiylah Anderson. The sophomore finished the win with 20 assists and three kills. 

"This group of freshmen especially is not afraid to be creative and take risks, so that’s what you see,” Kiebert-Carey said of her offense. “Granted, that’s because we have Kiylah. You can’t ask every setter to run a complex offense, but we have Kiylah. 

The sweep is the Wampus Cats’ fifth in a row and moves Clark Fork to 14-0 overall and 7-0 in North Star League play. 

"We are proud of being the kind of people who like hard work,” Kiebert-Carey said. “In volleyball, that hard work is not just technical skill ... it’s about being willing to make a lot of mistakes to get better and being willing to forgive your teammates over and over and understand that our sport is messy in the pursuit of something really beautiful. These girls have bought into that, and it’s paying off.” 

Next up for Clark Fork is a trip to Noxon for a non-league contest on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. Then the Wampus Cats will close out their season with their final league game before districts against Mullan for Gratitude Night on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. 

Sandpoint 3, Moscow 0 

MOSCOW — After a week away, the Sandpoint Bulldogs returned in style with a dominant sweep of the Moscow Bears (25-18, 25-5, 25-12) in a non-league game on Tuesday night. 

Sandpoint head coach Karen Alsager said that a substitution penalty early threw the Bulldogs into confusion. However, the Bulldogs bounced back by crushing the Bears in the second and third sets. 

Ali Gunter powered Sandpoint’s offense to the tune of 12 kills and an impressive .476 kill efficiency. 

“This new offense she gets to hit some on the outside as well as in the middle, and she's taking full advantage of that,” Alsager said of Gunter. 

Setters Averi Mire and Breecyn Morton had very solid days, combining for 26 assists. Alsager said the two did a good job of serving up hittable balls, and Sandpoint ended the day with a .315 hitting efficiency. 

Hailey Gion led the Bulldogs defensively with 10 digs and added three aces as well. Darby Rust ruled for the serving line, though, posting a team-high four aces. At the net, Aria Lawson, Carlee Klippel and Brooklyn Lacy totaled one block each. 

“We are still working on ways to improve our court dynamics,” Alsager said. “I think we are getting very close to having it more solid.  Looking forward to testing it out against our big matchups next week.” 

Sandpoint will host Lakeland for its penultimate league matchup and senior night Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. Then, the Bulldogs close out their regular season on Oct. 15 with a showdown at Lewiston at 7 p.m. 

    Clark Fork's Elyssa Raynor makes a diving attempt to keep the ball up against the Kootenai Warriors on Tuesday night.
  

    Clark Fork senior Nora-Jean Hoy poses for a picture with her family on senior night on Tuesday.