STATE 6A VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: Post Falls drops two, finishes tied for fifth

By MARK NELKE 

Sports editor 

COEUR d'ALENE — As a freshman three years ago, the last time Post Falls qualified for state, Reese DeGraw didn't play volleyball, and wasn't sure whether she wanted to play again. 

Three years later, after helping the Trojans qualify for state for the first time since 2023, the 6-foot-1 senior middle blocker said she's happy she decided to play volleyball again — though her team's season ended on a tearful note Friday night. 

"It meant a lot. We worked really hard all season; our biggest goal was to make it to state," DeGraw said, after fourth-seeded Post Falls lost to eighth-seeded Owyhee 25-20, 25-21, 25-19 in the second round, then was eliminated by No. 6 Eagle 25-18, 25-23, 25-17. "It didn't turn out the way we wanted it to, but I think it was a good run." 

Post Falls (23-5) finished tied for fifth at state, one win shy of a trophy for a top-four finish.

"We're going to grow a lot from this experience," said first-year Trojans head coach Casey Cornett, an assistant in the Post Falls program the past four years. "They did a lot of great things, and I would have liked to have ended the tournament a little differently, but it does not overrule all of the amazing things that we have accomplished in this season, and even in this tournament." 

In the loser-out match, Post Falls dropped the first set, but led 15-5 in the second set. The night before, the Trojans rallied from down 13-6 in the fifth set to beat Rocky Mountain of Meridian. 

On Friday, Eagle outscored Post Falls 20-8 the rest of the way, with sophomore LillyAnne Baldwin getting the kill from the outside on set point. 

The Trojans fell behind early in the third set, and never recovered. 

"It just came down to us playing to try to not lose, instead of just playing our game," Cornett said of the second set. "We had the ability ... unfortunately, we just fell short, as far as mentally overcoming hard things. We're still growing and we're still learning, and that's OK." 

Senior Teresa Smith had 11 kills, 11 digs and three blocks for Post Falls against Eagle. Junior Annabelle Tucker added six kills. Freshman Peyton Barclift, who suffered a shin injury in the first set when she came down on the foot of an Eagle player after hitting (her ankle brace protected her ankle), had five kills. DeGraw and senior Rylie Gump had three kills each. Gump had three blocks, DeGraw two. Senior Lucy Carr had 11 assists and 12 digs, sophomore Lucy Smith 12 assists and nine digs, sophomore Jade Laos 11 digs. 

Against Owyhee, Post Falls became the latest North Idaho team to be introduced to lefty-swinging right-side hitter Reese Meier. The 6-foot-2 Ole Miss commit finished with 25 kills, "and that's actually low for her. She's usually in the 30s," said coach Michelle Dodds, who started the Owyhee program in 2021. "She's pretty special ... and she's the heart of our team. We rely on her a lot, and it's fun to see her rise to the occasion. She's a true competitor." 

"I love blocking people that are really good," said DeGraw, who had two blocks in that match. "She's an amazing hitter. It was hard to get there sometimes, because she's a lefty and it's hard to close the block sometimes, but I enjoyed it, and it was fun blocking her, when I could." 

All three sets were tightly contested; Post Falls led midway through the third set before Owyhee went on a run and never looked back. 

"We did not make adjustments fast enough," Cornett said of blocking Meier. "Props to her; obviously she's a tremendous athlete. We've played some competitive teams before with tremendous outsides, but we just did make the adjustments quick enough, and it got to us eventually." 

Tucker led the Trojans vs. the Storm with six kills. Teresa Smith had five kills and seven digs, Gump four kills and two aces, Barclift three kills and five digs, Carr 10 assists, Lucy Smith 10 assists, eight digs and two aces. 

"They're amazing; they're one of the best teams we've played this year," Dodds said of Post Falls. "They have just weapons all over the place. And their defense, they're just digging balls all over. They have no quit in them." 

Of the 10 players who saw plentiful action for Post Falls, five are seniors.  

"We're not done yet; we're ready to keep learning and growing," Cornett said. "We're not going anywhere; hopefully we're right back at state next year." 

Owyhee beat top-seeded Rigby in four sets in the first round on Thursday night. Rigby then went out in two, getting swept by No. 5 Rocky Mountain on Friday. 

Owyhee will play third-seeded Madison (28-5) of Rexburg today at 11 a.m. for a berth in the state championship match. 

"You want your team clicking at the right time, and we're clicking at the right time," said Dodds, who started the program at Rocky Mountain in 2008, and won a state title with the Grizzlies in 2010. 

Eagle (25-7) will play Rocky Mountain today at 9 a.m., with the loser finishing fourth. Rocky, which lost to Post Falls in the first round on Thursday, knocked out top-seeded Rigby, then eliminated No. 2 seed Skyview of Nampa in four sets in Friday night’s late match.

For Skyview, which has been state champions seven times and state runners-up four times since 2015, it was the first time the Hawks didn’t bring home a trophy from state since 2010.

 MARK NELKE/Press Owyhee senior Reese Meier, right, an Ole Miss commit, swings against the block of Reese DeGraw, left, and Peyton Barclift of Post Falls in a state 6A volleyball quarterfinal match Friday at Coeur d'Alene High.