In anyone’s
tournament, Hailey stays alive
District
volleyball at Wood River’s gym
Showing
desire, Wood River 5-10 junior outside hitter Charli Lindley hammers
a winner during Thursday’s "Senior Night" victory over Buhl
on the Hailey hardwoods. Express photo by David N. Seelig
When push
came to shove, great team defense and blocking lifted the #2-seeded Wood
River High School Wolverines to a hair-raising five-game triumph over #3
Filer Saturday during the opening round of the SCIC volleyball tourney
in Hailey.
Coach Tim
Richards’ Wolverines, two-time defending champions of the SCIC
tournament, were just two points away from falling into the loser
bracket—but they pulled it together and rallied past upset-minded
Filer 18-21, 21-19, 17-21, 21-19, 15-8.
In a
closely-matched tournament in which any of the six teams could
conceivably prevail, Wood River’s desire and poise paid dividends
against a scrappy Filer squad that played outstanding defense all match.
"We
came out in the fifth game and wanted it so bad," said Wood River’s
5-9 sophomore middle Syringa Stark, who had three huge blocks to extend
her team’s fifth-game lead from 10-8 to 13-8. Natalie Green also had
three blocks earlier in the game as Hailey took over the net.
Leading
the Wolverine defense that tightened up at crunch time was Jessica King
(10 digs, 14 kills).
Green
finished with 11 kills and 6 blocks. Emily Smith’s all-around effort
included 6 kills, 15 assists and 3 blocks. Whitney Richards led the way
with 17 assists. Liz Rippon had 6 service points in the second-game win.
Charli Lindley added 6 service points in the pivotal fourth-game win in
which Wood River rallied from a 19-17 deficit—Smith serving it out.
Hailey
coach Tim Richards is proud of the depth of his talented team.
Everybody contributes, including 5-8 junior outside hitter Liz
Rippon,
lining up a winner earlier this season. Express photo by David N.
Seelig
The main
thorn in Wood River’s side was Filer’s 6-0 senior MB Janae Hymas (19
kills). Her strong hitting and clever tipping put Wood River on its
heels, until Hailey figured it out.
"Coach
told us that we shouldn’t take out our frustrations on ourselves, but
take them out on the other team," said Stark. Coach Richards said,
"We blocked the middle well when we beat them earlier in the
season, and that’s what we needed to beat them."
The coach
added, "Filer challenged us and it took a while for us to recognize
it. But we’ve been the kind of team all season that relies on everyone
contributing. Get me to the fifth game, I told the team, and we’ll
win."
With the
victory, Wood River (18-13) moved into Tuesday night’s semi-final
against top-seeded Buhl (14-4). The Tribe also dodged a bullet Saturday,
dropping the first two games and charging back to beat #4 Gooding 17-21,
19-21, 21-15, 21-13, 15-8.
Championship
match is scheduled for today, Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on the Hailey
hardwoods—both finalist teams advancing to the State 3A tournament
Nov. 1 in Twin Falls. More will be at stake in today’s 5 p.m.
elimination match—the winner going to state and the loser going home.
Wood
River (8-2 league, tied with Buhl) finished its regular-season slate
with two SCIC wins—beating host Declo 21-17, 21-13, 20-22, 21-12 last
Tuesday and rallying past visiting Buhl 21-19, 12-21, 14-21, 21-16, 15-9
Thursday on "Senior Night."
Lindley
(14 kills), Green (8 kills) and King (8 kills) pounded away in the Buhl
triumph. Whitney Richards chipped in 19 service points and 21 assists
for the Wolverines.