Kellogg 3, Priest River 2 

MOSCOW — The Priest River Spartans gave the undefeated Kellogg Wildcats all they could handle in the 3A District 1-2 championship, but fell in five sets (14-25, 25-22, 13-25, 25-21, 8-15) on Saturday at the Moscow Bear Den. 

Priest River forced a fifth set thanks to an attacking error by Kellogg, giving them their 25th point after a rollercoaster day. The Spartans claimed the first point of the winner-take-all set, but the Wildcats stormed back with a seven-point run to take control of the game. 

Priest River battled back to cut the lead as little as three, 11-8, but Kellogg hit the accelerator to close out their dominant season with a CIL title. 

The Spartans were led by senior Raygn Turner and freshman Ava Griesemer, who both totaled 13 kills apiece. Griesemer added two aces and five blocks to round out an impressive day. Priest River’s setter Haylee Jepson-Church racked up 33 assists. 

On defense, the team’s defensive specialist, senior Callie Stanger, contributed a team-high 31 digs. Turner added 18 digs and junior McKinley Burgess-Duquette had 17 digs and nine kills in Priest River’s loss. 

Priest River 3, Orofino 2 

MOSCOW — The Priest River Spartans rallied in another five-set classic over the Orofino Maniacs (25-17, 24-26, 26-24, 20-25, 15-7) to take second place in the 3A District 1-2 Tournament. 

Turner led the Spartans in kills yet again with 21 and four aces, while Burgess-Duquette added 15 kills and three aces. The duo not only powered the offense, but the defense as well, with 23 digs each while Stanger added 22 digs. Jepson-Church contributed 33 assists in the Spartans' win. 

With the victory, Priest River keeps their season alive. The Spartans are set for a state play-in game next Saturday, though their opponent and place of match is unknown at the time of publishing. 

Lewiston 3, Sandpoint 2 

LEWISTON — The Sandpoint Bulldogs narrowly fell to the Lewiston Bengals in five sets (24-26, 14-25, 26-24, 25-23, 6-15) in their opening game of the 5A District 1-2 Tournament on Saturday at Lewiston High. 

The Bulldogs and Bengals played three extremely narrow sets, but the home team was able to claim the momentum of the fifth set early and advance to the championship game. Sandpoint was led by sophomore Ali Gunter’s 21 kills, with only five errors, and 13 digs.  

Fellow sophomore Aria Lawson made her first appearance hitting on the front row for the varsity team and stepped up to the challenge, posting three aces and four blocks. Sophomore Hailey Gion starred defensively with 22 digs while sophomore setter Averi Mire added 41 assists. 

Sandpoint head coach commended the team’s fight after falling to Lewiston in three sets just two days ago on Thursday. 

"This is a young team, and I was able to get a good glimpse of what they can hopefully accomplish in the future,” Alsager said. 

Senior Marlee Lane totaled 10 kills and three aces in her final game for the Bulldogs, putting a bow on a fantastic senior campaign. 

“It will be really tough losing Marlee,” Alsager said. “She had a tremendous season.” 

The loss ends Sandpoint’s season; they finish 8-11-1. Lewiston is slated to take on top-seeded Lakeland in the District 1-2 Championship game on Tuesday.